Love Hina Blind Love
by SlippyTheWeasel
Summary: Keitaro Urashima, blind for 15 years, is the new manager of Hinata-sou. Some of the tenants aren't thrilled, and Keitaro has his hands full dealing with them. Being attacked by /you know/ doesn't help!
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Love Hina. Ken does. I'm just along for the ride.

(AN: In case anyone sees any resemblance to situations/dialogs I use and the Love Hina fanfic author Bugsy uses, that's because he and I correspond a lot. He previews my stuff and helps me keeps everyone in character, more or less. My thanks to ya, Bugsy (and yes, me and him are self-inserts in some of my stories. Slippy)

**Love Hina – Blind Love **

**Fanfic **

**Chapter One**

**A Friday morning**

As they are relaxing for their morning bath, the residents of Hinata-sou contemplate the coming summer.

Motoko _(I do not understand what any difference the season makes. Training must continue, chores must still be done. Yet, there is something about not having to worry about school for a few months, as some the others are able to do. And, I must admit that I, too, look forward to Haruka's annual late-summer trek to the seaside.)_

Kitsune _(I can't wait to get to the beach, even if we do have to work at the Beach Tea House. It's a nice change from the city.)_

Mutsumi _(zzzzzzzzzzz)_ The nude melon girl floats on her back, asleep.

Su _(I can'ts wait. Got me a new submariniable Mecha-Tama I justs gotta tries.)_

Shinobu _(Aaauuuuu! I mean, ahhhhhhh. No more school for three months! And we'll be going to the ocean soon!)_

Naru _(What am I going to do for three month with no prep school?)_

Kitsune stretches her arms over her head, "Ya know, I just ever get enough of these baths."

The others murmur their agreement.

Naru looks up, watching the clouds drift by, "It is very relaxing. I could sit here for days, if I didn't have anything else to do."

"Yeah, but if we dids that, we'd all look like prickly prunes or something." Su giggles "Are prickly prunes yummy?"

"Su is correct. It would not do to stay in the baths for such a long time, Naru-sempai. As fond of her as I am, I have no desire to look like Granny Urashima, at least not at such a young age." Motoko remarks.

Kitsune smiles and looks sideways at the sword maiden "If I wasn't sure it was ya'll, Motoko, I'd say you just made a joke."

Motoko blushes slightly, and smiles a little.

Su "Ha! She made ya blush!" She splashes Motoko with her feet. The other join in, using their hands, and then their towels, to splash and play in the hot springs.

"Auntie?"

Suddenly, Shinobu gasps and points at the changing room door. A man stands there, facing the hot springs. The girls are stunned for a moment seeing a man at their all-girl dorm, before they remember that they are partially or fully naked.

"What do ya'll think you are doing here? This is a women's only dorm and bath. Get out of here!" Kitsune yells.

Quickly wrapping their towels around their bodies, Motoko and Naru leap out of the bath to confront him. As they approach, he drops his backpack and retreats, his cane falling from its pouch. He raises his hands "I'm sorry, it was an accident, please forgive me!"

"How dare you come to an all-girls dorm and peek at us, you pervert!" Naru rears back and punches him just as he trips over his cane. "I shall bring justice upon you for attempting to defile our purity, you perverted, lecherous, deceitful, vile, male. Shinmei-ryu no Zanganken! God's Cry Attack of The Stone Cleaving Sword!" Motoko yells. The punch, instead of slamming into his chest to throw him across the lawn, instead impacts with a sickening crunch across his jaw. The man screams in pain at his dislocated jaw until he slams into the changing room wall, where he is knocked unconscious.

Naru, stunned to have caused such an injury when she only meant to drive the stranger off, doesn't hear Motoko's cry of attack.

Motoko releases a powerful burst of chi from her sword, the vortex swirling into the stranger, blasting him through the trees to land the hot springs, which quickly empties of all the other residents. Naru stares at her hand; never had she hurt someone as badly as she just did.

Except for Motoko and Naru, the girls all take cover near the changing rooms. As Motoko stalks her enemy, Kitsune looks down, seeing the backpack the man had dropped. Her eyes go wide as she reads the words on the back. She looks what they thought was just a walking stick laying beside it.

Grabbing his folding cane, Kitsune whispers in a shocked voice "Oh gods, no!" just as the man goes flying over their heads, courtesy of another Motoko hit. "STOP!" she screams, finding her voice again.

The sword maiden pauses as she rushes past her. "What is wrong, Kitsune? Is there another vile pervert over there?" Motoko asks, flames in her eyes.

Kitsune holds the red-tipped white cane in front of her, and points at the backpack lying at her feet, the words _'Tokyo School for the Blind'_ embroidered on it.

A silence like ice descends, quenching the flames in her eyes. Motoko lowers her sword slightly, "T-this cannot be! It must be a deception. How could a blind man find his way up the hill, through the inn, and to our bath?"

Naru is the first to regain her wits. She takes off in the last direction they saw the man fly by, towards the front of the inn. The others follow a few seconds later.

Coming around the corner of the inn, they tumble against each other. "Oh my, I've never seen them strike anyone with such force before!" Mutsumi whispers, her eyes wide and her hands coming up to her mouth.

Groans of pain reach their ears from the crumpled heap lying on the front steps of the inn. Naru is kneeling next to his head. Her hands fidget, unsure what to do.

The man's left arm is bent sideways just above the wrist. His clothes are shredded, and they can see his upper body is covered in scratches from tearing through the trees. The remains of his glasses, which they can see are the near-opaque lenses used by the blind, dangle from one ear above his bruised jaw. Blood trickles from the corner of his mouth.

Su, her voice trembling "I-I thinks ya broke him." As she rushes to Naru's side, Shinobu close behind, she says "Hell, I thinks ya killed him!"

Kitsune runs over and carefully inspects the man, trying hard and failing to hold her tears back while she tries to help. Placing her fingers tenderly against his right wrist, she can feel a pulse. Weak, erratic, but a pulse nonetheless. "H-he's alive, but, oh spit, I don't know how. Su, take Shinobu inside, and call Hikari. Quickly, and tell her it's an emergency!"

Su grabs the young cooks' hand and races to the inn to call the doctor as Mutsumi kneels beside Kitsune, looking at the injured man. "Oh dear, I-I've never seen anyone so….so..."

Motoko stands several paces behind Kitsune, unwilling and unable to approach any closer. Naru is on the other side of the unconscious form. _(Kami-sama! What have we done?)_ She tentatively reaches down to move the hair from the man's face. Carefully, she removes his broken glasses and sets them to the side.

Su returns "Doc Hikari is on her way. Shinobu fainted, so I put her on the couch and grabbed some towels for her and our patient." She hands Naru a damp towel, who places it on the man's forehead. Su stands beside Motoko, unsure what to do next.

After several minutes waiting for the doctor, the man stirs, moans and tries to rise. His movements cause him to cry out in pain, and he opens his eyes. They blink once, unseeing, at the awning over him before closing again. Panting, he groans in a pained and fearful voice "Oh heck, whah happened?"

"L-lay still, ya'll are badly hurt. A doctor is on the way. Just stay still." Kitsune begs, softly pressing his shoulder down.

"Y-yes, you need to be careful, don't try to talk, I…I" Naru can't continue.

Turning his head slightly towards her, he timidly asks Naru "W-who are you?"

"I- I'm, I mean, my name is Naru. Naru Narusegawa."

After a few seconds, his breathing becomes less ragged. Gently, he rolls his head in the other direction, and in the same voice, "And y-you two are…?"

"I'm K-Kitsune, I mean, my n-name is Konno Mitsune." She stammers. Beside her, Mutsumi says "I am Mutsumi Otohime."

In spite of his pain, he smiles, his eyes still closed. The tenderness in his face surprises the girls. "My name is Keitahhh- aaahhh" he cries out pain as he moves his left arm.

"Don't try to move. Don't talk." Hearing footsteps, Naru looks up to see Hikari Ishido running towards them. Mutsumi moves out of the way so the doctor can get to Keitaro.

"Dear gods! What happened here?" Hikari asks, placing her bag at his head as she starts examining his injuries.

Naru, unable to look at the doctor's face, explains what happened, how they saw this man at the hot springs and, thinking he is an intruder, attacked him to drive him away.

"Drive him away, or kill him? Kami, it looks like a train hit him."

Keitaro turns his head towards the doctor "H-Hikahi-sensei? Is that you?" He coughs and cries in pain again. The girls are taken aback that this stranger knows their local doctor.

Hikari whispers in shocked surprise. "Keitaro?" She looks up from examining his knee to stare at his face; with treating his injuries, she didn't recognize him at first. "Oh, no, No! Keitaro! Why are you here, you're a day early? No, don't speak. Let me finish, you're obviously in no condition to talk." Looking at the Motoko, she orders "Go get Haruka. Now!" Hikari takes a vial from her bag and pours a few tiny drops into Keitaro's mouth. Gradually, he stops groaning and moving, and his breathing becomes more regular as he lapses into unconsciousness.

Motoko turns to start down the hill, obedience to authority ingrained on her, before she turns back, bewildered, and asks "Why am I to bring Haruka-san here?"

Stopping momentarily, Hikari looks up. "This is her nephew Keitaro Urashima, that's why! Now hurry!"

**Half an hour ago, Hinata bus stop**

Thanking the conductor for his assistance, Keitaro starts making his way across the bridge. In his mind's eye, he can see everything around him, as it was fifteen years ago. That, his cane, years of lessons at the Tokyo State Home for the Blind, and some training from Haruka's old boyfriend Seta makes it easy for him to find his way back to Hinata-sou. He has walked these streets and the corridors of Hinata-sou thousands of times in his mind.

He can hear light chatter, and the smells of late breakfast at the old tea house at the bottom of Hinata Hill. Smiling as he nears the steps, he pauses. _(I'm so glad Granny Hina and Aunt Haruka offered to let me come to stay here. It's been so lonely at the institute lately, most of the other patients are too sad for themselves to make friends, and the staff is always so busy, and ever since, ever since….)_ his smile fades _(At least, I can pay my own way. The money from Mom and Dad's insurance has pretty much set me up for life, if I'm careful.)_ Tears fall, unashamedly, from Keitaro's eyes. _(I miss you Mom and Dad. It hurts just thinking about you.)_

After regaining his composure, Keitaro orients his directions. Feeling the sun on his cheek, he taps to the first step. Opening the window of his mind, he sees the steps leading up the hill, lit softly as if on a spring afternoon, as he always remembers them. His bearings assured, he folds his cane and smiling, walks confidently up the stairs. _(I know I am supposed to always use my cane _**'because no matter how strong your memory, you never know when someone might have re-arranged things' **_or so my instructors at the institute always said)_. Keitaro doesn't worry. Granny Hina told him that the inn itself hasn't changed in over twenty years, so it will be exactly as he remembers it.

Reaching the top step, he pauses again. Taking a deep breath, he revels in the smells of his childhood, of a place full of so many happy memories. And one terrible accident.

Keitaro walks up the path to the entrance. Carefully, he steps up, grinning when his foot finds the first step. Putting his hand out, he finds the doors are closed, so he carefully feels down, finding the handle where his memory said it should be. Smiling, he opens the door. "Hello," he calls out "is anyone here?" grinning to himself, he calls "Aunt Haruka, are you here? It's Keitaro!"

Getting no response, Keitaro opens his senses to his surroundings. Not just his memory, but his hearing, smell, and touch. Faintly, he hears voices coming from the hallway to the changing room. _(Ah, everyone must be using the hot springs. I'll just leave their gifts on the counter and go see Aunt Haruka.)_

Finding the counter, he feels it to ensure it has nothing on it he might knock over or break. Satisfied, he unties the large bag from his backpack, and places the items in it on the counter. Feeling the tags, handwritten as well as punched in Braille, he sorts the packages.

Placing his folded cane in a special pouch, he picks up his backpack and makes his way down the hall to the changing room. He hears the voices clearly now, and the sounds of merriment and laughter, punctuated by splashes, makes him think that coming here might have been a good idea after all. He has missed the sounds of honest laughter from others for too long.

A large smile on his face, he opens the door and steps out. Softly, he takes a few steps towards the sounds of happiness and calls out softly "Auntie?" knowing that would get Haruka's attention better than anything else, even if it might get him a fan smacked aside his head he feels too happy to care.

Suddenly he hears a young voice, a girl, gasp as if in fright. As the noises in the hot spring stop, another voice yells "What do ya'll think you are doing here? This is a women's only dorm and bath. Get out of here!" He hears the muttering of several other younger females.

Feeling shame at having intruded on what is obviously a group of young females bathing, Keitaro backs away, dropping his backpack in surprise. He raises his hand in entreaty.

"I'm sorry, it was an accident, please forgive me!" He stands there hoping to defuse the situation before it can get out of hand. His aunt will settle things once she sees it's him. He waits, as he hears the sound of footsteps approaching. Still holding his hands out, he believes it to be his aunt coming, and he relaxes. He steps back, but trips over his dropped cane.

"How dare you come to an all-girls dorm and peek at us, you pervert!" a young woman screams at him. "I shall bring justice upon you for attempting to defile our purity, you perverted, lecherous, deceitful, vile, male. Shinmei-ryu no Zanganken! God's Cry Attack of The Stone Cleaving Sword!" another young woman cries. A powerful blow to his jaw sends pain flaring though his skull, and he screams until he slams into a wall of some sort, and temporarily has the breath knocked out of him. Then, a blast of, something, hits him. He slices through the trees, their branches tearing at his flesh, until he crashes into a large rock or boulder. His left arm snaps as his out-stretched hand connects badly with the stone. He is unaware of the third attack on his person, being blissfully unconscious.


	2. Chapter 2

**Love Hina – Blind Love **

**Fanfic **

"_I'm sorry, it was an accident, please forgive me!" He stands there hoping to defuse the situation before it can get out of hand. His aunt will settle things once she sees it's him. He waits, as he hears the sound of footsteps approaching. Still holding his hands out, he believes it to be his aunt coming, and he relaxes. He steps back, but trips over his dropped cane._

"_How dare you come to an all-girls dorm and peek at us, you pervert!" a young woman screams at him. "I shall bring justice upon you for attempting to defile our purity, you perverted, lecherous, deceitful, vile, male. Shinmei-ryu no Zanganken! God's Cry Attack of The Stone Cleaving Sword!" another young woman cries. A powerful blow to his jaw sends pain flaring though his skull, and he screams until he slams into a wall of some sort, and temporarily has the breath knocked out of him. Then, a blast of, something, hits him. He slices through the trees, their branches tearing at his flesh, until he crashes into a large rock or boulder. His left arm snaps as his out-stretched hand connects badly with the stone. He is unaware of the third attack on his person, being blissfully unconscious._

**Chapter Two –**

**Friday mid-morning, Hinata**

With each pronouncement from the doctor, the girls cringe. Hikari has determined that Keitaro' jaw is probably cracked and is definitely dislocated, he has a broken left arm, a dislocated left shoulder, and he has multiple bruised ribs. He also most likely has a concussion from the attacks and landings, but Hikari won't be sure until he wakes. That in addition to the cuts and bruises that covers his body.

Haruka arrives at a run, followed by Motoko. "Keitaro! Oh Kami-sama, Hikari! What happened to him?"

Hikari turns to her "He is badly hurt, but none of his wounds are life-threatening. Once I am done treating the worst of his injuries, he can be taken inside where I can finish treating him." She sighs as she continues, her own hatred barely contained, "From what I have gathered, Keitaro was savagely attacked by Naru and Motoko when he came upon the girls in the hot springs."

"ATTACKED? What the hell?" Turning to face them, Haruka unloads on them. "An attack is one thing. God damn it, this looks like you tried to murder him!" Haruka's words are the harshest the girls have ever heard from her. Motoko and Naru, however, fear that the worst is yet to come.

Fists clenched at her sides, Haruka continues. "Explain to me RIGHT NOW why you attacked anyone, let alone Keitaro, so viciously? You've never more than scared off intruders before with a slap or threatened them with a sword thrashing. What did he do to any of you to warrant nearly being killed? And convince me why I shouldn't just kick you both out of here right now!"

Hikari puts her hand out to restrain the distraught woman. "Haruka, calm yourself. Before we can go into that, I shall need your assistance. I gave Keitaro a sedative, and now I need to reset his wrist and shoulder before I can check his jaw. I recommend that the girls all go inside, as this will not be pleasant to watch."

Naru steps forward, struggling to hold back her fear "I, I want to help. I, I mean we, Motoko and I, did this to him, we have to do something to help him!"

Looking at Motoko, she sees the sword maiden is frozen in place. She is whispering "blood, blood, blood."

Hikari looks at Haruka, who, after looking at the two girls, visibly controls herself and nods. "Motoko is going into shock; I'll take her inside while Naru helps you." Getting to her feet, she guides the sword maiden into the inn, followed by the other residents.

Naru looks at Hikari, who is using scissors to cut the shreds of Keitaro's shirt from his body. She shudders at the sight of his wounds and bruises, caused by the attack she and Motoko inflicted on him. She barely hears Hikari whisper "Why didn't you protect yourself, Keitaro? You're normally never hurt this bad." And the back of her mind ponders this strange comment.

Out loud to Naru she says, "Now, this is not going to be pretty. I need to reset and bind his shoulder before I can do his wrist. Place your knees on each side of his head, careful to avoid touching his jaw, and hold his chest still…..That's it. Just a sec.." the sickening sound of tendons popping into place assaults Naru's ears, but she fights the urge to run. Hikari binds his shoulder and upper arm. Keitaro moans in pain, despite the sedative she gave him. Naru stares at the blood on her hands, blood from the cuts covering Keitaro's chest.

"OK, I need to set the bones in his arm. This isn't going to be easy, and even less pretty, since there are two bones to deal with. Are you sure you're ready for this? ….Naru, do you hear me?" Not saying anything, Naru nods her head quickly. "Hold his elbow, here, just like this. Do not let it move, understand? Now, I need to reset his bones." Naru holds his arm as Hikari directs.

The feeling in her hand of bone sliding on bone pounds against Naru's senses, but she is unable to take her eyes off the worse sight; Keitaro's bent arm being manipulated by Hikari, his flesh being eased around the bones until she sets them back in place. Again, Keitaro moans, his face contorting in a grimace. "He'll definitely have trauma in the muscles, and there'll be significant swelling. I can put a light brace on him today, until he gets better." Hikari applies the brace, and binds his lower arm to his stomach so it won't accidentally be moved.

"Last thing, then we can take him inside. How are you holding up, Naru?" A shake of her head tells the doctor Naru is hanging in there, barely. "Come here. When I tell you to, hold on to his head, just above but not on the ears, in exactly the position I give it to you. Hold it tight, and as still as you can. Fortunately, his jaw is not broken, only dislocated. However, I will need to re-adjust his jaw to get the tendons and ligaments re-aligned and reseat the joints. The sound will be nauseating to say the least."

Naru, sweat pouring down her back, moves to the place Hikari vacates. "Now, Naru, hold his head and keep it still." Naru, fighting back the trembling of her arms, does as she is instructed. "Are you ready?" Hikari looks at Naru until she looks back, and they make eye contact. At that exact moment, while Naru is not looking at his face, Hikari moves Keitaro's jaw straight again with a 'cracking' sound Naru will never forget.

Suddenly, Keitaro's eyes snap open, and he start moaning and writhing in pain. Released from her shock, Naru instinctively reaches for his shoulders "Oh, Keitaro-san, please, don't move. Hikari, why is he waking up, why?" she begs, cringing that anyone has to feel this kind of pain. Splatters of blood fall on her as Keitaro screams and struggles, spitting blood from his injured mouth. He reaches up with his right hand and grabs Naru by the arm, squeezing it so hard that he nearly leaves finger-shaped bruises on her. Through his pain, he recognizes her voice, "N-Narusegawa-wa-aaaahhh, please, h-help me!"

"Damn! I forgot how fast Keitaro metabolizes medicines!" Another phrase from Hikari that sets itself into the back of Naru's mind. Grabbing the vial from her bag again, she looks from it to Keitaro for just an instant before emptying it into his mouth. Within seconds, Keitaro's shuddering ceases, and he lapses into unconsciousness again. Naru, numbed from what she has witnessed, can only stare at the bruised and swollen face of the injured man beside her.

"Thank goodness. OK, that's all we can do for him here. Naru? It's OK, we've done what we can for him here, now we need to get him inside where I can finish treating his rib injuries. Haruka," she calls through the door "we're ready to bring Keitaro inside." Hikari stands and waits by the door.

Naru remains, kneeling beside Keitaro, her arms wrapped around her body. She slowly rocks back and forth, trying to maintain control a little longer. All she can hear in her mind is this man, this blind man, Keitaro, writhing in pain; all she can hear is his grunts and moans of agony. Looking at herself, she sees his blood on her hands.

Haruka comes out, and as she approaches Hikari, she notices the look on Naru's face. With genuine concern, she asks, "What about Naru? Should I have the others help her in?"

Hikari, a much kinder look in her face now, glances at Naru for a moment "No. She will need to remain out here for a few minutes, if I am not mistaken." They carefully lift Keitaro and carry him inside.

Mutsumi, Su and Shinobu, now in robes, have followed Haruka, and stand at the door watching Naru.

Dropping to her hands, Naru crawls to the edge of the porch, her vomiting starting before she can make it. She retches for several minutes; emptying her stomach onto the flowerbed below her while Mutsumi drapes a robe over her towel-covered body.

**A few minutes earlier, inside Hinata-sou**

As the residents enter the common room, Su rushes over to the couch to check on Shinobu, who is awake but still feeling faint. Kitsune, seeing Haruka struggling with Motoko, helps her.

Motoko is still whispering "blood, blood, blood." like a mantra. They sit her down at the table, and try to get her to drink a cup of tea. Suddenly she shudders, and her eyes appear to re-focus.

Putting her hand to her mouth, she stands and rushes to the bathroom, where the sound of her vomiting can be heard.

Kitsune looks at Haruka, who nods and, smiling slightly, says "I can see that Motoko didn't realize what she and Naru's attacks had done. Go help her; I think she's already learned her lesson far better than any words of mine could do." Looking at the front doors, she thinks _(And Naru is going to learn that lesson the hard way.)_

Shinobu, looking bashful, sits up on the couch. "I-is that man going to be OK?"

Haruka walks over to the young girl "Hikari thinks so, Shinobu. That man is my nephew, Keitaro, Keitaro Urashima." Shinobu's hands go to her mouth as she whispers "Y-your nephew? And they, they…"

Patting her on the shoulder, Haruka calms the young cook "Don't worry, Shinobu, I'm sure he'll be fine."

Kitsune, supporting Motoko, returns to the common room. Motoko looks at Haruka, and drops to her knees. Bowing her forehead to the ground, she says "Forgive me. I struck out against your nephew with a ferocity even I cannot explain. I attacked someone unable to defend themselves. I submit to any punishment you deem necessary."

Haruka kneels and puts a hand on Motoko's head. "It's alright, Motoko. It's not entirely your fault. There is something about Keitaro that brings out the best, and worst, in females. Unfortunately, it's far more often the worst."

Looking up, Motoko says "I do not understand?"

A light laugh escapes Haruka's lips, despite the circumstances "I don't either. Just take my word for it." Holding out her hand, she assists the sword maiden to her feet. Tipping her head in the direction of the bathrooms, she says, "Besides, your reaction shows you didn't mean to really hurt him."

The sudden scream of pain from outside causes everyone to jump to their feet, if not already standing. As they move towards the door, Haruka calls them back, "If Hikari needs us, she'll call for us. Until then, none of you need to see what she is doing. Believe me, I know."


	3. Chapter 3

**Love Hina – Blind Love **

**Fanfic **

_Haruka kneels and puts a hand on Motoko's head. "It's alright, Motoko. It's not entirely your fault. There is something about Keitaro that brings out the best, and worst, in females. Unfortunately, it's far more often the worst."_

_Looking up, Motoko says "I do not understand?"_

_A light laugh escapes Haruka's lips, despite the circumstances "I don't either. Just take my word for it." Holding out her hand, she assists the sword maiden to her feet. Tipping her head in the direction of the bathrooms, she says, "Besides, your reaction shows you didn't mean to really hurt him." _

_The sudden scream of pain from outside causes everyone to jump to their feet, if not already standing. As they move towards the door, Haruka calls them back, "If Hikari needs us, she'll call for us. Until then, none of you need to see what she is doing. Believe me, I know."_

**Chapter Three –**

**Friday, mid-morning, inside Hinata-sou**

Haruka and Hikari take Keitaro to the unused manager's quarters, which Haruka had already prepared for Keitaro, not knowing he was going to surprise her by showing up a day early. They place him gently on the futon, and bring some extra pillows from the laundry room to make him as comfortable as possible.

Everyone stands at the door, looking at Keitaro as the two women treat the rest of his wounds. Once his face is cleaned, they are stunned to see for the first time that he appears young, in spite of the bruising and swelling of his face. He can't be more than 18 or 19 years old.

**Several hours later, noon, Hinata-sou**

As Keitaro slowly regains consciousness, he is aware from their breathing of two bodies close to his, and that the pain of his wounds has subsided to a dull ache. Already, he can feel most of his minor cuts have started to heal over, but the ache of his jaw, his left arm, and ribs tell him he's been hurt rather severely this time. Hikari had carefully examined his head, and believes he didn't also suffer from a concussion at the girls' hands, much to her relief.

With a light laugh, Hikari asks, "Are you back with the living, Keitaro?"

Putting his good right hand to his head, he smiles slightly and murmurs "If you call being run over by a bullet train and then falling off a cliff no big deal, then, yeah, I'm OK. What happened? Last thing I remember is coming to the hot springs and some girls yelling and attacking me?"

Hikari explains to Keitaro what injuries he has suffered.

Smiling, he turns his head to the left and speaks slowly, his bandaged jaw and aching ribs making him space his words out a bit. "Well, Aunt Haruka…. I guess my plan to surprise you….by showing up a day early worked…. Uh, surprise!"

The gentle rap of a large paper fan greets his head, "Don't try to talk. And just call me Haruka, you little sneak. It still amazes me how you can always tell it's me."

Reaching up carefully to rub his neck with his right hand, Keitaro blushes and says, "Well, the blend of cigarettes….perfume, tea and restaurant….scents are rather unique to you." Turning his head carefully, "An Hikari here is….an interesting blend of sweat….antiseptics, and jasmine."

Hikari laughs "We'll trip you up one of these days, Keitaro." Keitaro chuckles, then groans in pain.

Haruka asks "Gods, Keitaro. How can you be so cheerful? If you had been anyone else, you may have died today!" with genuine concern in her voice.

Keitaro says, "It must have been….a misunderstanding….They thought a madman….had walked in on them…..I can't fault them for that…..They were defending each….other, they were taking care each other."

Hikari "You mean you don't blame them for what they did to you? That you forgive them?"

Lying there for a moment, Keitaro sighs "I already did….Why blame them for what….they felt they had to do?" his smile fades, and with real worry in his face, says "I hope they'll….accept my apologies for….invading their home and their privacy."

"Well, if I have anything to say about that, they'll shut up and accept it. I am the manager here." Haruka says, a hint of anger in her voice

"NO!...OUCH!" Keitaro says, as he smacks his futon with his right hand to emphasize his denial, and then reaches up to his jaw, "OK,….that was stupid."

Both women jerk back as Keitaro responds to the last comment, then giggle at his own reaction, despite the situation. "No. I don't want to be….here if they are forced to accept me…. At least give them the….benefit of the doubt….Let them decide if….they want me here or not…..I'll accept their decision…..I only ask for the….chance to apologize….Heck, I'll even do….the work here….What I am capable of, anyway…..To prove myself…..The last thing I want….is to be burden to anyone."

"You've never been a burden, Keitaro. Not to me, or to anyone. However, I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow evening, so I haven't briefed the girls yet. Let me go down and talk to them, and see how it goes from there."

"Before that, could you ask….them to come up here?....I want to apologize…..It wouldn't be fair to throw….this on them with the guilt….they're feeling…..I want to clear air first,….and let them make their….decision without worrying about what I….may think."

Reaching out and ruffling his hair, Haruka says, "Keitaro, you are an amazing young man. OK, we'll do it your way."

Sniffing the air, Keitaro says "That's the only fair way…. I'm positive they were just….protecting each other…..You never told them about me, so they had ….no way of expecting a strange man….to show up. I guess it….was my actually all my fault for….trying to surprise you, Haruka."

His stomach rumbles. Blushing, "By the way,….something smells wonderful…..Would it be any bother….if I could get a little to eat?....I haven't had anything since….lunch yesterday, I've….been so excited at coming,….and I am a bit hungry." To add fuel to the fire, his stomach rumbles a second, louder time. His blush goes a shade redder. He mumbles a laugh, patting his stomach lightly, "Or as my belly would…have you believe, I'm starved."

Haruka stands "I think we can scrounge something up for you. Hikari, would you like to stay for lunch?"

"I am a bit hungry, although probably not the yawning bottomless pit Keitaro is just about now. Let's hurry so Shinobu can get the poor lad something to calm that noisy stomach." She giggles girlishly as they depart his room.

**Downstairs, for the last half hour**

The residents, having changed into regular clothes, sit in the common room, waiting on word of Haruka's nephew. Motoko sits in a chair, attempting to meditate. Kitsune is sipping her second glass of sake. Mutsumi sits on a couch, her hands caressing her melons. Su is trying to look like she isn't bored. Shinobu sits quietly, her hands fidgeting. Naru stares silently at the table, unable or unwilling to look up and meet anyone's gaze. All she remembers is the man's screams and his blood.

Very little conversation has gone on, except for an occasional whisper from Shinobu "I h-hope Haruka's nephew will b-be alright."

After Shinobu's eighteenth repetition of that phrase, Motoko's eyes snap open. "Shinobu, please do not overly concern yourself with that, that..male. Hikari is an accomplished physician, and I am sure she will have him ready to take to the clinic shortly. At that time he will no longer be of any concern to us."

Su looks at Motoko "Hey, but weren't it you and Naru that broke hims in the first place? Ain't you worried about him nones?"

Kitsune "Hey, he shoulda known better than to wander around an all-girls dorm unescorted. Who does he think he is, any? Ah know, Ah know, he's Haruka's nephew. Oh Spit!' Looking from Naru to Motoko "Come to think about it, that alone should have ya'll quaking in yer tennis shoes."

"Oh my, what if he were to press charges? I mean, you did attack him, and he did nothing to defend himself. Oh dear." Mutsumi clutches her melons tightly.

Motoko and Naru stare at the melon girl for a moment, before looking at each other.

Naru says, "She's right, Motoko. No matter what you said Haruka told you, it's not her decision to make. We didn't attack her, we hurt her nephew. And we know nothing about him. For all we know, he's just pretending blindness to get his perverted kicks walking in on naked girls! Just another lousy pervert."

"I had not thought of it in that way. I assumed Haruka's words to be the last on the subject, but her nephew is an adult, and is capable of making his own decisions. He must have heard our voices before he entered the hot springs. How could he have not known the hot springs were occupied by females?"

Motoko thinks _(And what Haruka said to me; __**'There is something about Keitaro that brings out the best, and worst, in females. Unfortunately, it's far more often the worst.')**_ "Haruka may not have said it in as many words, but what other type of male could possibly bring out the worst in women other than a perverted, vile, lecherous, deceitful, …"

Naru finishes Motoko's sentence, "Pervert! That's the word. I don't care what assurances Haruka gives, that guy's a pervert. I don't trust him."

Naru thinks back for a moment about what Mutsumi said, and then shudders "After what we did, can you imagine anyone NOT pressing charges? Kami! After seeing what we did, I'd get to a phone and press charges the first chance I had if I were him."

Kitsune, a worried look on her face, "Ya'll are right. Ain't nobody in their right mind just gonna ignore something like this happening to them. Heck, he'd be within his rights to sue fer damages." the Fox's continues, "And since ya'll are tenants, he could sue and bankrupt Hinata-sou right outta business. We could all lose our home. Oh damn, I need my sake!" She grabs her cup and searches for another bottle.

Su says "But, he's Haruka's nephew? Why would he do that? And are bankrupts yummy?"

"I'll finish getting lunch ready. Maybe someone can take some up to him, to let him know we're sorry about everything! He seems like a nice man." Shinobu says.

After a few moments, Naru says, "He may be Haruka's nephew, but I've never heard of him until today. None of us know anything about him. We have to take the initiative. We have to show him that we are the ones that matter here; this is our home, not his. We have to convince him and Haruka it was his fault for walking in on us unannounced!"

Motoko replies, "Naru, truth that may be, do you not think the evidence of his own body will tell him otherwise? He was viciously attacked, and you expect him to believe it was his fault? I think we would be naïve to expect anything less than a thorough investigation by the police. My age may protect me from jail, but I fear I will be taken from Hinata-sou and placed under state-care. I see no easier alternative for you, and far too many that are worse."

Naru roughly sits on the couch. "I can't believe that this is it. We've been together for so long, you guys are like family." Anger fills her body "I am so pissed. I don't want to leave just because some perverted baka waltzes in here, pretending to be blind so he can get his kicks!"

Kitsune kneels beside the couch, "There is the slight possibility that he may let ya'll off easy, ya know. If ya'll both approach him, and explain everything to him. Tell him how much like a family we are. Tell him how much it would hurt us if you two had to leave. Beg, girl, beg like ya'll mean it! That's the ticket! Beg, and don't hold back. Turn on the water works, bow, grovel, all that good stuff."

"You think that'll work? It might just encourage that pervert more." Naru asks.

"I don't know, but" and Kitsune grins, "Oh, heck, ya'll know me. It'd at least be fun to watch."

Shinobu looks in from the kitchen "Lunch is almost ready. Are you sure that is the right thing to do?"

Motoko, rising to her feet, states resolutely, "All we must do is convince this, male, that it was his fault. He will be leaving here shortly, as Hikari is sure to take him to the clinic for treatment."

Naru nods her head, looking up. "Motoko is right, Shinobu. This is an all-girls dorm, anyways. It's not like he lives here." A chill runs through them all.

"Hey, did one of ya'll leave a window open or something?" Kitsune shudders.

Hearing footsteps approaching, they rise as Haruka and Hikari come down the stairs. Trying not to look like they are rushing, the girls nudge past each other to hear what the women have to say about their 'assailant'.

Haruka waves them back, "All of you just calm down. Keitaro's going to be alright. He needs to rest, but he'll be fine by tomorrow morning."

Perplexed, Motoko looks at Haruka, "But, but that cannot be. I saw the damage we inflicted on him. He must be taken to a hospital, now! It is unbelievable to think he would be able for anything in less than a week!"

Hikari adds "Oh, believe me, Keitaro will be fine in almost no time. In fact, he will probably be up and about tomorrow morning, but he won't be able to take in anything but soft food for a day or so until his jaw heals."

Su ask, a gleem in her eye, "Is Keitaro some kinda super dude? Like Bald Draggers X?"

Haruka replies, "No, Keitaro is just like anyone else. He just heals pretty fast when he's hurt."

Su wrings her hand together like a mad scientist and thinks _(This bears investigating and testing. I've been dying to tries my new Mecha-Tama out.)_

Naru steps up to Haruka, her arms crossed. In a sarcastic tone, she asks, "Is your nephew really blind? He seemed to be able to find his way around here too easily for a 'blind' man!"

Haruka nods "Yes. Keitaro really is blind."

Motoko has her hand on her sword, and nods because she believes she and Naru are on the right track. Haughtily, she questions Haruka's statement, "You mean he is blind in the legal sense, do you not? That his vision is so poor he qualifies as blind, although he can see with the aid of glasses?"

Haruka adjusts her cigarettes holder as she looks at the two girls _(What's gotten into them? You'd think from the way they are acting that they're the victims here, not Keitaro.)_ "No. What I mean is that Keitaro has lived in total darkness for over fifteen years, ever since he was five years old."

She looks up at the ceiling and grits her teeth as she continues. "Keitaro was constantly crying himself to exhaustion over his fear of the constant blackness he experiences for the first six months after he lost his sight."

As the other residents gather around, Haruka continues, a bit kinder, "He spent a year after that shuttling between his home and an institute for psychological care because of the terror he was going through. He was then admitted to the Tokyo State School for the Blind, where he's been trying to learn a trade, and how to function around sighted people again for the last fourteen years. From what Granny Hina says, Keitaro has an amazing gift for finding his way around Hinata-sou in his mind. That's why she invited him here for a break from the School. Is that clear enough for you?"

The girls nod agreement. With the slight exception of Naru and Motoko, Haruka sees that their interests and curiosity are peaked. _(What is it with those two?)_

"OK. Now, Keitaro made it clear that he wants to speak to all of you, if you don't mind. I told him I'd ask. Anyone who doesn't want to can stay here." The look on Haruka's face bodes ill for anyone who refuses to meet with her nephew.

"Shinobu, would it be any trouble to bring something up for Keitaro? He hasn't eaten since yesterday, and he can't handle anything but liquids for a while. As a matter of fact, if everyone would prepare a plate, we could all eat with him. I'm sure he'd appreciate the company."

Kitsune "We all had better go up. We did this to him, the least we can do is apologize and have a meal with the poor guy." as she glares at Naru and Motoko.

Motoko, her sword once again firm in her hand "Why do we delay? The sooner he has his say, the sooner we shall be rid of his vile presence."

Naru thinks_ (Just step outta line once, you pervert, and you'll wish you'd never stepped foot here today!)_

"And one more thing," Haruka's voice goes hard, "the accident that cost Keitaro his sight fifteen years ago happened right here at Hinata-sou, out by the hot springs. So I imagine he may become a bit distressed as he recovers from the sedative, and the realization that he has just been attacked in the same place that cost him his eyesight kicks in. So tread lightly on anything you say about that subject!"

Everyone prepares their plates in silence, and Shinobu readies a tray laden with food for Haruka and Hikari, and liquid refreshments for Keitaro; the residents then follow the two women to see Keitaro.


	4. Chapter 4

**Su's Note:** shhh. Slippy's finally gots this chapter finished. Me and Kitsunes done proof-readed it, and her ya goes. Shinobus even helped out, making us some sandwiches whiles we worked. Come 'ere, Shinobus and says 'Hi' to everybody.

**Shinobu:** Uh, hello. Aaauuuuu!

**Kitsune:** (whispering) Yeah, and that baka Slippy tried to password protect the file, but Su fixed that right quick! Hope ya'll likes it, I get a few more lines in this one, for a change. Slippy even let me think some slightly naughtier thoughts about Keitaro, and he stole kisses from some of us in this rewrite. Keitaro, not Slippy. Yay!

**Keitaro:** B-but, Kitsune! That's not exactly true, I mean, that is (Kitsune grabs Keitaro's face and kisses him)…..GACK!

**Shinobu:** S-Sempai's b-blood? Aiiiiieeeee! (THUNK!)

**Su:** (poking the unconscious ronin with a stick) Dang, ya broke him, agains. And Shinobus gone la-la land, agains. Ya know, I coulda hads more lines, but I was busy making a mecha-slippy to take overs the writings when Slippy's ignoring his duty to the readers.

(A scream echoes from the backyard as Slippy runs from a two foot-long, robotic weasel, flames pouring from its mouth.)

**Kitsune: **Maybe ya'll should have used more typing fluid and less napalm as a lubricant if ya'll wanted that thing to write stories, Su. Oh, and Slippy tightened up some lines in the other chapters. Doesn't change the story, really, just lets it make more sense. Well, enjoy everybody!

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**Love Hina – Blind Love **

**Fanfic **

**Chapter Four –**

"_And one more thing," Haruka's voice goes hard, "the accident that cost Keitaro his sight fifteen years ago happened right here at Hinata-sou, out by the hot springs. So I imagine he may become a bit distressed as he recovers from the sedative, and the realization that he has just been attacked in the same place that cost him his eyesight kicks in. So tread lightly on anything you say about that subject!"_

_Everyone prepares their plates in silence, and Shinobu readies a tray laden with food for Haruka and Hikari, and liquid refreshments for Keitaro; the residents then follow the two women to see Keitaro._

**Friday, lunchtime, Hinata-sou**

At Keitaro's door, Haruka pauses and knocks. "May we all come in, Keitaro?"

"Yes, please." he answers.

Haruka slides the door to the side, and gestures for the residents to enter. "Please, seat yourselves comfortably around the room, eldest to Keitaro's right. Hikari and I will sit beside him as we are known to him. Shinobu, please bring the tray over here, I'll just set this table on Keitaro's left, and you can serve him."

Having asked Hikari to retrieve a spare pair of opaque glasses from his backpack before they went downstairs, Keitaro sits on the futon, legs beneath him, his jaw bandaged, his left arm in a brace and sling, bound against his chest. He smiles as he tries to appear calm, but he is nervous all the same, with just a touch of fear. As Haruka prepares his table, the girls use the opportunity to examine him.

Kitsune- (_No surprise that Keitaro-san seems so worried and afraid of us. We'all beat the heck outta him! Why else should he act otherwise?) _Noticing his face clearly for the first time_; (Ya know, he's kinda cute, though, in a beaten-up, puppy-dog kinda way. He might be fun to tease, if he weren't just visiting. Oh Spit! I forgot he can't see me when I put mah babies to work.) _Grinning mischievously, the Fox thinks_ (Well, there are other ways to get a man's attention. I wish he didn't wear those dark glasses all the time. I wonder what color his eyes are.) _

Su-(_Poor guy, he gots all busted up by Punch Lady and the Stick-waving Momma before anyone elses had a chance to plays. He seems friendly. I wonders if he'll come back and plays with me after he gets better? And those dark wrap-around glasses is way cool. I wonder what color his eyes are.)_

Mutsumi-(_Ara, he's not bad looking, if you ignore the bandages and bruises. And those glasses make him look so mysterious and yet somehow familiar. I wonder what color his eyes are.)_

Motoko-(_How can that, that male, just sit there? He must be thinking of something extremely vile and lecherous and perverted, that deceitful male. And how could he possibly have recovered so quickly? Does he practice some type of martial art? Such an individual would make an excellent training partner, uh, if he wasn't male, that is. And if he were to remain here for a short time after he recovers. However, with those glasses, he gives the appearance of someone with something to hide. He might look better without them; That is, I mean, I wonder what color his eyes are?)_

Naru-(_What is that pervert thinking? I have to make sure he thinks he's the one at fault; it's the only way to get my ass outta the sling with Haruka. Why does he have to smile like that? Although, if he weren't wearing those glasses, he might look kinda cute) _The self-preservation side of Naru's brain gets up and kicks the legs out from under her compassionate side and holds it down (_for a pervert, that is! I wonder what color his eyes are.)_

Shinobu-(_Aaauuuuu! Did he just smell my food and smile? Does he think it's good? And I get to serve him? I'm gonna pee! He looks so cute, but those glasses kinda scare me. I wish he didn't wear them.) _"I wonder what color his eyes are. Did I just say that out loud? Aaauuuuu!"

All the girls gasp, hearing Shinobu voice almost their exact thoughts.

Keitaro sits quietly, listening to the movements around him. He tries to keep the grin off his face as he hears Shinobu comment. _(Why would anyone care what color my eyes are?)_ He shifts nervously, hearing the others settle into position on their cushions around his futon.

Haruka, having seen to Keitaro's table, lays a hand on his arm. "Keitaro, let's get the girls introduced to you, then it'll be your turn. We'll start on your right." Haruka gestures to Mutsumi to begin.

"Ara, I am pleased to meet you, Keitaro-san. My name is Mutsumi Otohime, I am 20 years old, and I was born on Okinawa. I am a prep school student, and I am trying to make it in to Toudai for the second time. I like kotatsu tables, watermelons and turtles. I live next door in room 203. My hobbies are studying, canoe rides, and dressing up." Mutsumi, her turtle Tama-chan on her head, bows to Keitaro, who has turned towards her voice and bows as she finishes speaking. Tama-chan responds "Mew, mew!"

"Pleasure to meet ya'll, Keitaro-san. My name is Mitsune Konno. Ah am 20 years old, and Ah was born in Osaka. Ah am a freelance writer. I like sake, dancing and having fun with my friends. I live in room 205, just on the other side of here. My friends call me Kitsune. Ya'll can call me anytime ya'll wants. My hobbies are gambling." Kitsune grins and winks, forgetting that Keitaro cannot see her, and she bows. He nervously returns her bow. "Uh, okay, er, yeah."

"My name is Naru Narusegawa, Keitaro-san. I am 19 years old, ouch!" Kitsune elbows the honey-haired girl "I, uh, that is, I mean I am 17 years old. I will be 18 on my next birthday." _(What kind of idiotic statement was that?)_ "I was born in Kanagawa prefecture. I live right upstairs in room 304. I consider myself very smart and I want to go to Toudai. I received the top score in the last nationwide practice entrance exam. I have to wear glasses because I've studied so much." _(Oh, great, now I sound like I'm bragging. And why did I tell him I wear glasses? Like he'll ever see them) _"My hobbies are shopping, relaxing in the hot springs, studying, karaoke, and bowling." Naru, her babbling completed, bows slightly as Keitaro returns her bow, a strange look on his face. _(What is that baka thinking? Why is he making that face? I bet he's already singled me out to blame for what happened earlier. Well, we'll see who blames who, Mr. Urashima!)_

Her sword on her lap, "Greetings, Urashima-san. My name is Motoko Aoyama. I am 16 years old, and I was born in Kyoto. I am a twelfth generation sword master of the Shinmei School. I am a freshman in high school. I live upstairs in room 302. I detest turtles. I wish to become the greatest master of the Shinmei-ryu School. My hobbies are practicing with my sword, watching anime, and bathing in the hot springs here at Hinata-sou." Despite her resentment towards him, Motoko performs a respectful bow in his direction. Keitaro bow towards her as well, again a strange look on his face. _(Spirits! Naru is right! That look! Urashima must have identified me as one who participated in the attack on his person, and is contemplating his revenge. I shall not be intimidated by a, a MALE!)_

"Howdy Keitaros! My name's Su Kaolla. I'm 14 years old, and I was born in my home country. I lives up in room 301. I wanna rule the world someday. I'm a freshman in junior high school. I like bananas, sliding, and turtles, stewed. That is, if I can ever catches that flying soup base. I got lotsa hobbies, but my favorites is inventing, having fun, and eating. Do you think you could plays with me before ya leaves?" She performs a bow, a slight grin on his face.

"I'd like that, Miss Koala, if I'm still around after I get better." He replies as he bows.

"Hey, I ain't no psychedelic tree-climbing teddy-bear. The names Kaolla, but ya can calls me Su."

"O-Okay, Su-chan."

"That's better. I likes ya Keitaros. I hopes ya can hangs around for a while."

Naru thinks _(Yeah, like I'll ever let that pervert stay here any longer than it takes Hikari to pack him off to the hospital. He can recover there as easily as anywhere.)_

"And lastly, at your left here is our resident cook and your server for today." Haruka nods to Shinobu.

Blushing, the young cook introduces herself. "M-my name is Shinobu Maehara. I am 13 years old now, but I'll be 14 in a few weeks. I was born here in Hinata City. I am a freshman in junior high school, but I'm not very smart. I like sitting in the sun, and reading. I live up the hall in room 201. I want to own a nice restaurant someday. My hobbies include cooking, cleaning, and stuffed animals." She bows towards Keitaro who, as he also bows, bumps heads with the youngest resident.

Sitting up quickly, Keitaro rubs his forehead. "Ow! Oh, I'm so sorry Maehara-san, please forgive me!"

"N-no, please, don't apologize Mr. Urashima. You couldn't have known. It was all my fault, I forgot you were blind and…Aaauuuuu!" Shinobu's hand covers her mouth; afraid she has insulted him by forgetting something that he lives with everyday.

"Maehara-san, please. Don't worry about it. I've been blind since before you were born, so I'm used to it. I don't suppose you've had to deal with too many blind people as a junior high school student. It must be uncomfortable for you."

Shinobu nods her head as she whispers "M-maybe just a l-little, sorry." She bows again.

"I'll tell you what. You just call me Keitaro and we'll consider it all forgotten. What do you say we shake on it?" He leans forward and holds his hand out in the direction of the young cook. However, since she has bowed to him again, his hand slides down the back of her shirt.

"Aieeeeeeeeee!" Shinobu clasps both hands over her mouth to stifle her inadvertent yelp as she rapidly sits up. Keitaro, however, not realizing where his hand is, finds it caught as she leans back, and he is pulled forward to fall on top of her. "Aaauuuuu!" (H-he's on top of me! H-he's pressed against me! He's, he's so warm! A-and he smells nice, too!)

Naru and Motoko, believing he is attempting to molest their young friend, stand and stalk toward them.

"Hey you filthy pervert! Get off her! She's only a middle school student, you dirty lowlife!"

"Release Maehara-san immediately, Urashima! Then my sword shall bring justice upon you for attempting to defile this young maiden!"

Keitaro, rising quickly as he realizes what just happened, instinctively pushes Shinobu behind him as he turns in the direction of Naru and Motoko's voices. Having a good idea what is about to happen, he shields the young girl with his body as he turns towards them. "Please, you've got it wrong! I didn't mean to do anything, it was an accident!" He puts his good hand up, hoping to calm the two young women as he steels himself, mentally preparing himself for another attack.

Naru rears back, ready to deliver a Naru-punch as Motoko raises her sword.

"STOP, DAMN IT, THE BOTH OF YOU!"

Haruka's yell stops the pair in their tracks. She has risen to her feet, her eyes like flame. "Just what the hell are you two thinking? Kami-sama, if you had attacked Keitaro right now, what do you think would have happened to Shinobu?"

The girls look and see Shinobu, trembling like a leaf, desperately clinging to Keitaro's bandaged left arm, her eyes wide with fear as she stares at his attackers from behind the young man. Keitaro reaches down and places his good hand over hers.

Haruka calms a little, but not much, as she stares at the two assailants. She continues. "If you would have stopped for a second, you would have realized Keitaro accidentally fell over. And, when he realized he was about to be attacked again, he pushed Shinobu behind him to cover her with his own body. So tell me, who was protecting who from whom?"

Adjusting her cigarette, Haruka goes on. "Keitaro may be able to handle it, but Shinobu wouldn't stand a chance if your attacks slipped past him. So just SIT DOWN!" Haruka stands there, her arms crossed, until the two girls back-down and return to their cushions.

Turning, she continues in a gentler voice, "It's okay now, Keitaro, you can relax. You too, Shinobu. You can let go of his arm now."

Keitaro turns and gently pries the still trembling girl's hands from his arm. She immediately grabs his waist in a bear-hug and whispers "T-thank you for protecting me, Sempai!"

"I'm just glad no one got hurt again, Maehara-san." Sliding his hand up her arm to her head, he pats her gently.

Looking up into his dark glasses, she says "P-please, call m-me Shinobu. And d-don't hate Naru-sempai and Motoko-sempai, they w-were only, uh, that is, they've always taken care of me."

Thinking about what Shinobu called him, Keitaro tilts his head. "So, since I protected you, I'm a sempai as well, huh?" He smiles.

Releasing Keitaro, she backs away slightly and explains, "W-well, Naru-sempai and Motoko-sempai take care of all of us. So they are both sempai. But, you protected me, so you are MY Sempai." Shinobu says timidly, risking a look up at Keitaro.

Keitaro rubs the back of his head as he says, "I understand. Thank you, Shinobu-chan, I am honored." He puts his hand out in front of his body and moves it around. Not feeling anyone there, Keitaro smiles lopsidedly and then bows to Shinobu. "Better safe than sorry, right Shinobu-chan?" Shinobu giggles at his precaution and silliness.

He turns and raises his head in the direction of the two girls, a more serious look on his face, "And since Shinobu-chan doesn't blame you, it's only right that I forgive you. And that leads to why I wanted to talk to all of you." Keitaro kneels, bowing as low as his injuries allow, causing the residents to gasp; "I beg all your pardons; I didn't mean to intrude while you were bathing. I'm sorry that I caused all of you any distress. And for what happened, I don't hold any of you responsible. I understand you were just trying to protect each other, to take care of each other. Please forgive me."

"S-Sempai? But, how can you…? After what happened?" Shinobu whispers. _(H-he's so kind and gentle and nice. I wish I had someone like him to take care of me.)_ Realizing what her thoughts implied, the young girl wails; "Aaauuuuu!" _(I think I pee'd!)_

Keitaro sits up and rubs the back of his head. Before he can reply, the girls all start speaking.

Kitsune stares at the young man. "Beggin' ya'lls pardon, Keitaro-san, but are ya'll sure that ya didn't hurt your head when ya landed? I mean, we did attack ya'll!" she asks, surprised not only that he holds them all blame-less, but that he is actually apologizing to them for what happened! _(He's kinda sweet, in a clumsy and clueless kinda way.)_

"Oh my! You are such a sweet young man! Would you like to taste my melons?" Mutsumi exclaims airily, holding a melon in one hand as the other goes to her cheek while she looks at Keitaro. Keitaro blushes slightly at her words, a hint of blood trickling from his nose as he quickly pulls a handkerchief out of his pocket to cover his nose. _(Oh dear, he is really very cute!)_

Su stands on her head and claps her feet, "Ya is alright in my books, Keitaros! I hopes ya can stays around for a while and plays with me! Can ya? Can ya?" _(I thinks you look cute, Keitaros. You remind me of my brother, in a weakling kinda way.)_

Motoko and Naru are speechless. After having prepared themselves to lay all the blame on Keitaro, and then almost attacking him again, he stuns them by accepting full responsibility for everything.

Motoko squirms on her cushion, thinking to herself; _(I do not understand! Urashima should have been furious with us for attacking his person, yet he forgives us AND asks our forgiveness? Is he a spineless weakling trying to protect himself? Or, does he truly mean what he is saying?)_ She forces herself to look at the young man, wondering what the truth is.

Naru, having returned to her cushion, stares at her hands in her lap; _(How can he just forgive us? We nearly killed him, not that he didn't provoke us…..) _She looks up and sees Keitaro face, a kind and gentle smile beaming at them from behind his dark glasses. _(And how can he smile at me, uh, I mean us, like that?)_ she thinks, her hands going to her chest.

Haruka raises her hand to quiet the girls. She glares at Keitaro, although she knows he cannot see her. "I honestly don't understand how you can say that, Keitaro. You were in no way at fault for what happened today."

Hikari speaks up. "She is right, Keitaro. We knew you were going to be here, although I admit you are a day early. We should have told the girls several days ago that you were going to be visiting Hinata-sou at your grandmothers' request. They would not have reacted as they did if they were expecting you."

Haruka gets a thoughtful look in her eye, as if disagreeing with Hikari's statement. "I rather doubt it would have made any difference to Naru or Motoko." she says to herself. Keitaro turns towards her, a slightly surprised look on his face.

"You don't mean that, do you Aunt Haruka?" A paper fan makes itself known to the back of Keitaro's head.

"Just call me Haruka. And remind me not to talk to myself while you're around, Keitaro. I keep forgetting how good your hearing is. And yes, I meant every word." The girls look from Haruka to Keitaro, wondering what it was she said that Keitaro disagreed with so strongly.

Keitaro reaches out with his good hand, and Haruka takes it. "Haruka, we both know how clumsy I can be. I have to give them the benefit of the doubt. What kind of person would I be if I blamed everything that happened to me on somebody, anybody, else?" Grimacing at the memory, "I met too many people like that at the Institute; torn up inside with anger because they couldn't handle being blind, and had to make everyone around them feel guilty because of it. I refuse to end up like them!" he finishes, a hint of determination and conviction in his previously meek voice.

"I'm just worried for you, Keitaro. You are my favorite nephew, you know." she says with a slight smile on her face.

"Uh, I think I'm your ONLY nephew, Haruka." Keitaro replies, a laugh in his voice.

"That doesn't change how much I care about what happens to you." Haruka states firmly. Keitaro rubs the back of his head, blushing somewhat at her concern.

"Now that everyone's settled down," Haruka gives Naru and Motoko a stern look, "I think we need to let Keitaro introduce himself."

"Yes, of course." Bowing towards the girls, Keitaro says. "My name is Keitaro Urashima. I am 19 years old, and was born in Hinata City. My goal is to make it into Toudai, even though my studies aren't going well, in fact I've failed the past two years." The girls are surprised. They had not expected a blind man his age to have completed secondary school, let alone that he is trying to get into Tokyo University. "My hobbies are collecting photo stickers, cooking, drawing, and writing."

_(He failed two times to get in? He…He's a ronin! A blind, perverted ronin!)_ Naru thinks.

Before she can speak up, Kitsune replies. "Hold on a minute, Keitaro-san. Ah don't understand; Ya'll collect photo stickers AND ya'll like to draw? Forgive me for sounding like an idiot, but, ya'll _are_ blind, aren't ya?" she says, blushing slightly at mentioning the young man's' condition. The others hiss and shush her for being so dense, although they were wondering the same thing. Expectantly, they all look at Keitaro.

Keitaro grins "It's alright, Konno-san. I get that reaction all the time." Tilting his head down a little, he replies, "I guess you might say I have a very, well, active imagination. I can remember what some things look like, in general, because I haven't been blind all my life. And I found out long ago that, if I concentrate, I can draw what I see or imagine in my mind, if I have a clear enough picture of it. I've been told that my drawings are pretty good," Keitaro blushes, "but I know people are just being 'kind to the poor blind man' when they say that."

Lifting his head up and turning on his smile, he says, "I mean, think about it; how good do you really think a blind person can draw?" He grins and chuckles, the girls giggling as they also see the humor in what he says.

"S-Sempai, but what a-about collecting photo-stickers? Forgive me, please, but, if…that is, ah, if you….." Shinobu falters, embarrassed at asking the question.

Keitaro, blushing slightly, rubs his neck and grins, "I guess that would have to be my optimism to blame for that habit, Shinobu-chan. When I go to places I haven't been to, I ask where the photo booths are."

Keitaro's voice drops a bit, " Even though the doctors have told me that I'll never see again, I hope inside that, someday, I will. So I collect photos, so one day I'll be able to look at them and 'see' where I've been, not just how I imagine it might have looked like. It's as simple as that. Kinda silly, huh!" Keitaro finishes, nervously rubbing his right hand on his neck.

A few moments of quiet contemplation pass as the girls, their mouths open, stare at the young man before them.

Breaking the silence, Mutsumi exclaims happily, "Ara, that is such a wonderful outlook on life. You are so sweet, Keitaro-san." Mutsumi crawls over to kneel beside him and takes his head in her hands. "And you have such a darling face!" she kisses him on the lips. Keitaro sits there, his face blushing red.

"Mutsumi!?!" Naru leaps over and drags the Okinawan by her arm back to her cushion. "What do you think you're doing? Leave Keitaro alone!" she yelps, not noticing the blush that is rapidly rising on her own face.

Kitsune rubs her chin and looks at Keitaro, whose right hand has risen to his rapidly blushing cheek. "O-Otohime-san?" he sputters, a drop of blood appearing at his nose.

Crawling over rapidly, the Fox plants herself next to Keitaro. "That has got to be the brightest outlook on life Ah've ever heard, Keitaro-san!" Kitsune grabs his head and plants a kiss on his lips. "Ah think Mutsumi's got something there. Ya'll is kinda cute, Keitaro-san."

"Ko-Konno-s-san?" Blood drips faster as Keitaro's head tilts back, his face blushing three shades of red.

Rubbing her chest against his right arm, Kitsune grins slyly as she wraps her arms around the helpless ronin, "Hey, ya'll can just call me Kitsune. I think ya'll and me are gonna be real 'good' friends, Keitaro."

"GACK!" Keitaro freezes as blood gushes from his nostrils.

"Aaauuuuu! S-Sempai's bleeding again!" Shinobu grabs a napkin to assist Keitaro, but trips over her cushion as she rises, crashing against Keitaro, knocking him out of Kitsune's grip. The young cook lands on top of him as he falls over. "Sempai?" she whispers worriedly. Staring at his face, her sub-conscious mind rapidly runs through her options.

1. Pee.

2. Faint.

3. Pee and then faint.

4. Kiss the prone man beneath her.

_(Number 4! Number 4! Fight, Shinobu, fight!)_ her thoughts scream at her.

Hearing her whisper, he replies. "Shi-Shinobu-chan?" Keitaro stutters, his hand reaching up her arm to find her face, where he touches her cheek.

"Aaauuuu!" Shinobu squeals as she jumps up _(Sempai touched my arm! Sempai touched my face!)_

Number 3 wins.

"I-I pee'd!"

THUNK!

"Hey, does that tastes yummy?" Su asks, jumping over and grabbing Keitaro by his shoulders. She lifts his head up and plants a loud kiss on his face. "Smack!"

"Hmmm. Kinda likes marshmallows and fried rice. Not bads." Su leaps back over to her cushion.

"S-S-S-S-Su-ch-chan……" Keitaro's mind goes blank and he flops back to the ground as she releases him, with only his right foot twitching to show he is still among the living.

Motoko looks from the four girls, to Naru, and then to the prone figure of Keitaro. _(This cannot be happening! Urashima must not be allowed to force his perverted ways on us!)_ she thinks. Blushing slightly, the sword maiden says, "This is not the proper way to act towards him, I mean, towards us! That is, we must restrain ourselves! No, I mean you, YOU must restrain yourself, Urashima. We, uh, we should not be taking advantage of you this way, I mean, you should not..." Motoko sputters as her brain and mouth argue over what she is trying to say.

Naru sits there, still holding Mutsumi's shirt-sleeve as she watches the others kissing Haruka's nephew. Her mouth drops open and she stares as Keitaro collapses to the floor. _(Why that, that lousy, two-timing, perverted ronin! I outta….Oooooh!)_ Naru grits her teeth. _(Wait a minute! Why should I care? He's nothing to me. He'll be leaving me, I mean, he'll be leaving here soon anyway.) _Naru bites her lip, a small shiver running up her spine.

Hikari holds her hand up to her mouth and giggles, "Well, Haruka. That took less time than I thought it would."

Haruka looks around at the girls. "I should've known. The first time we have a man visit Hinata-sou, and the lot of you can't keep your hands off him. It looks like I'm going to have to hire some security for Keitaro." she says. "I suggest everyone keep their hands AND lips to themselves so Keitaro can recover a bit and have a chance to eat. He IS hungry, you know."

Kitsune, her mouth open to reply, gets a stern glance from Haruka.

"What?" the Fox says, a wicked gleam in her eye. "Ah wasn't going to say anything."


	5. Chapter 5

**Love Hina – Blind Love **

**Fanfic **

**Chapter Five –**

_Haruka looks around at the girls. "I should've known. The first time we have a man visit Hinata-sou, and the lot of you can't keep your hands off him. It looks like I'm going to have to hire some security for Keitaro." she says. "I suggest everyone keep their hands AND lips to themselves so Keitaro can recover a bit and have a chance to eat. He IS hungry, you know."_

_Kitsune, her mouth open to reply, gets a stern glance from Haruka._

"_What?" the Fox says, a wicked gleam in her eye. "Ah wasn't going to say anything."_

**Friday afternoon, the manager's room**

After Haruka gets the girls to settle back onto their respective cushions, she and Hikari revive the semi-conscious Keitaro, cleaning the blood from his face while they are at it.

"Now that everyone is back in their place," Haruka eyes Kitsune, who is attempting to inch closer to the young man. Kitsune scoots back, smiling innocently. "I suggest we all have our meal."

"Itadakimasu!" everyone says and starts eating. More than one set of jealous eyes are on Shinobu as she assists Keitaro with his meal.

"H-here you go, Sempai. I shall serve you. Open wide." Shinobu says as she feeds some pepper beef to the man beside her. _(I'm so happy!)_

Chewing on the food, Keitaro exclaims "This is delicious!" He opens his mouth for another bite.

Shinobu selects a small rice ball next. Chewing it and licking his lips, Keitaro says "I must have died and gone to heaven! This rice is perfect, Shinobu-chan!" Again he opens his mouth for another serving as Shinobu thinks _(Sempai likes my cooking! Sempai likes my cooking. I just might pee my panties! Again!)_

Suddenly Keitaro screams as wasabi sauce (the green kind) is dripped on to his tongue. "Aaaaargh! Wather! I need wather! My mouph! Ow, ow, ow, ow!" Keitaro fans his mouth until Shinobu grabs his wrist and presses a glass of water into his good hand. Downing the liquid in one gulp, Keitaro sighs in relief.

The girls all stare at Haruka, who is still holding a jar of wasabi in her hand. "Now Keitaro, you're blind, not paralyzed. And you are old enough to feed yourself. Shinobu will just make sure you don't lose anything from your tray. She's the cook, not your nanny."

Keitaro rubs the back of his neck and gives everyone a lop-sided smile, "Well, can you blame me? After all, I am hungry, and I've only got one arm to work with right now."

"B-But Haruka-san, I don't mind feeding Sempai, really. It's no bother at all, I can manage." Shinobu says, blushing _(Sempai's nanny? Oh I could die happy if I were his nanny!)_

"No, Shinobu. You just assist Keitaro, and enjoy your own meal."

"Hai! Of course, Haruka-san." Shinobu reluctantly settles herself in front of her tray and begins eating, not noticing the glares she is receiving from the other residents. Casting various glances, they think to themselves.

Mutsumi, glancing at Shinobu and then Keitaro; _(Oh my, Shinobu-chan is the bold one! I wonder if Kei-kun would like some of my melons as a snack!)_

Kitsune, glancing at Shinobu and smiling slightly; _(That lucky little thang! Ah'm so jealous.)_

Naru, glancing at Keitaro, annoyance and good humor warring for bragging rights on her face; _(Ooooh! You'd think that baka couldn't do anything for….ha ha, he's got a piece of rice on his cheek. That's so cute!)_

Motoko, glancing at Keitaro's cheek, a hungry look passing over her face before being replaced by surprise and then calmness; _(I desire that rice grain! WHAT AM I THINKING?... I must not think about it! I must NOT think about it!)_

Su, eyeing Motoko's tray wantonly, her fingers twitching; _(I wonders if Motokos is gonna eats her dessert!) _

After half an hour of polite conversation, everyone finishes their meal. Haruka tells the girls to take their trays out, and go ahead with whatever they were doing and let her talk to Keitaro.

Hikari takes her leave, "I shall return to the clinic. If you need anything, Keitaro, have Haruka or one of the girls contact me." Bowing, the doctor leaves.

As the girls follow her out the door, Haruka walks over to the desk and retrieves a folder from the drawer and places it on the desk. Moving to sit beside Keitaro, she decides to see how he is holding up.

"So, what do you think of the girls, Keitaro? An interesting bunch, aren't they?" she asks, her cigarette bouncing in her mouth as she suppresses a laugh.

Keitaro smiles as he adjusts his legs beneath him. "That's putting it mildly. But, they all seem like nice people, even if some of them would rip my head off given a choice. I guess things stay pretty lively around here, huh?" he laughs.

"Not like those mope-around-all-day people back at the Institute, right?" Haruka asks.

Keitaro leans back a bit, a serious but sad look on his face, replaced by a smile as he talks. "Not at all like them. Even though I had my backside handed to me in a sling today, so to speak, I'd take being here at Hinata-sou any day to living at the Institute. Besides, here, it feels like…like…" Keitaro leans forward, his face blushing slightly.

"What is it?" Haruka encourages him to continue.

Sighing, he says, "It's like I feel, home again." A tear drops from Keitaro's eye. His smile droops as he continues. "Ever since…ever since the accident, I've felt like I no longer had a home anymore. Being here, where I spent so much time playing and having fun as a child being around you and Granny, I….I" Keitaro sputters to a stop, unable to speak past the lump in his throat. Tears fall freely down his cheeks as Haruka pulls him into a hug.

Giving in to his emotions for the first time since his parent's deaths, Keitaro softly cries into Haruka's shoulder. She strokes his back, speaking words of comfort and consolation to him. "Let it go, Kei, let it all go. I miss them, too. I'm here, Kei, I'm here. Let it go. It's alright, I'm here." Haruka softly re-lives her pain at the loss of her brother and sister-in-law as she holds her nephew's sob-racked body.

After nearly ten minutes, Keitaro, his sobs ended, slowly pulls back from Haruka's embrace. Removing his glasses, he wipes his face with the back of his hand. In a voice rough from crying, "Thanks, Haruka. I guess I really needed that."

Pulling a handkerchief from her pocket, Haruka wipes Keitaro's face, drying his tears. "It was bound to happen sooner or later, Kei. You never really accepted what happened until just now. How do you feel?" she asks, concern for her nephew obvious in her voice.

Wryly, Keitaro smiles at her. "Tired. But a lot better than I have in months. That took a lot out of me." Words become action, and he tries to stifle a mighty yawn, but fails.

Haruka takes his hand and leads him over to the futon. "You rest for a while, Kei. I'll come back up in a few hours to get you for dinner." Going over to his backpack, Haruka finds a pair of pajamas and soft-soled slippers, which she places in Keitaro's hand. "I'll slip in later and grab your clothes and get Shinobu to wash them for you. You change and get some sleep." Patting him on the head, Haruka lets herself out of the room.

Keitaro's private outpouring of grief was heard by one resident of Hinata-sou. With her hands tightly wrapped around her shoulders to stop them shaking, she quietly takes off down the hallway, unseen by Haruka as she leaves the manager's room.

…..

As Keitaro lays there, half awake, half asleep, power which he can neither sense nor control, and which is formed clean and pure by his compassion for others, has risen once again from the depths of his being, strengthening his body and healing his injuries. It is an ability that lays dormant and untapped, but always rises in times of his need. An ability that didn't manifest itself until he reached puberty, so it was not in time to prevent what happened fifteen years ago.

His thoughts drifting from one to another, Keitaro sleepily goes over the day's events. As he remembers standing at the hot springs and being attacked, his half-awake mind imagines himself at Hinata-sou, but not as he is now.

It is fifteen years ago. He is five years old, and is spending the summer with his Granny Hina and her daughter, his aunt Haruka, who is only a few years older than him. The two children are playing hide-and-go-seek, alternately taking turns hiding and seeking. It is Keitaro's third turn to hide.

Unable to find a suitable place inside the inn where Haruka can't find him in under a minute (he is very careful not to enter any of the unused guest rooms), Keitaro decides to hide outside somewhere. His small footsteps lead him to the upper deck, where he sees that, if he jumps from the rail, he can get up on the roof. Thinking Haruka will never think to look for him up there, he climbs on the rail.

"Three, Two, One, Zero. Ready or not, here I come!" Haruka calls out, running for the door. Keitaro didn't realize that Haruka, who has lived in the inn all her life, can tell whenever the front doors are opened, so she knows her nephew headed that way. She races outside, planning on catching Keitaro hiding in a bush, or maybe near the hot springs (although they had both promised to stay out of the water without an adult around, that didn't mean they couldn't be near it, so they reasoned.)

After a short leap that put his heart in his throat, Keitaro crawls on his hands and knees to the peak of the roof. Clinging to it as he catches his breath, his eyes behold the grounds of Hinata-sou, and the entire city, spread out below him. Any fears forgotten, he raises himself to his feet and walks to the end of the building.

"It's wonderful!' He thinks "You can see everything from here!" Awestruck, he slowly turns in a circle, taking in the sights, smells, and sounds around him. The game forgotten for the moment, Keitaro spreads his arms at some birds flying just overhead. "Hi! Hello birdies!" He calls out to them, never having been so close to birds in flight.

_(It's like I'm in the sky! Like I'm flying!)_ Keitaro hums a happy tune as he watches the birds fly off towards the river. Turning, he slowly rotates, his glance raised to the sky. His foot slips, just before he hears his aunt yelling "Keitaro, look out for the edge!"

Near the hot springs, Haruka hears Keitaro greeting to the birds and looks up to see her nephew, hands outstretched, head up, stepping dangerously close to the end of the building. A moment too late, she sees him lose his footing as she calls out "Keitaro, look out for the edge!"

His scream tears through the afternoon stillness as Keitaro slips, falling down the slope. Desperately, he tries to grab something, anything, to slow himself down. But nothing on the slanted roof give him any object to grasp, and, gaining speed, he slides off the building, his body tumbling through the air.

Haruka's screams mix with his. Keitaro's last sight, as his body cart wheels through the air, is of the rocks surrounding the hot springs rising to meet him.

…..

Keitaro sits up in his futon, sweat pouring off his body, his breath rapid and shallow. _(Kami-sama! I haven't had that dream in ages!)_ His hand on his chest, he wills his racing heart to calm and his breathing to ease as he lies back onto his pillow. Letting thoughts of peace and serenity flow through his mind, he achieves a reasonable state of calmness. After a few minutes, thoroughly exhausted, he drifts to sleep.

**Later that afternoon:**

Haruka, realizing that she needs to get some errands run, finds Shinobu in the common room and asks if she'd collect Keitaro's clothes and please wash them.

"Hai, I'd be happy to help, Haruka-san." Shinobu says, anxious to meet the young man again.

"Alright. But be very quiet. Keitaro is sleeping right now, and the last thing he needs is to be scared out of his wits by someone 'accidentally' falling on him, again." Haruka smirks, looking slyly at the young girl.

Shinobu blushes "B-but, it WAS an accident, I-I tripped on my cushion!" she explains, while secretly wondering _(How does she know these things?)_

Smiling, she replies, "I know THAT was an accident, Shinobu. I'm just saying don't go having another 'accident' while he's sleeping. He's still healing from his injuries, and you wouldn't want to fall on his broken arm again, would you?"

"Oh, no! I wouldn't want to hurt Sempai! You're right, Haruka-san. I'll be very careful." Shinobu bows her understanding to the older woman.

"Good. I should be back in two or three hours. Did you already have anything planned for dinner tonight?"

"No, Haruka-san. I was going to ask Mutsumi-san for some melons to make a dessert, though." Shinobu says, casting a quick glance at the ceiling, which does not go unnoticed by Haruka.

"Hmm. Well, in case you're interested, Keitaro is fond of pork fried rice, beef bowls, vegetable stew, and sukiyaki." Haruka says, looking at Shinobu's face.

"Good! Then I shall prepare what Sempai lik…Aaauuuuu!" Shinobu blushes three shades of red. "How did you know I was wondering what Sempai's favorite food are?"

Slyly winking at her, she replies "Lucky guess, I guess. Just don't go making all those dishes at once. Even with Su's help, I don't think we could finish off that much cooking in one evening." Waving as she heads for the door, she reminds her "Don't forget; clothes washed and NO glomping the unconscious, mysterious stranger upstairs while he's asleep." Haruka slips her shoes on and departs the inn.

Shinobu, waiting for a few moments after the door closes, hugs herself. _(I get to see Sempai again! I want to be very quiet, but I really hope he wakes up and talks to me.)_ "I hope he'll like pork fried rice for dinner."

"Pork fried rice? Why would you prepare such a basic meal as dinner when we have a guest joining us, Shinobu-chan?" Motoko asks.

"Aaaaiiiieeee! M-Motoko-sempai? Don't s-sneak up on me like that, it's scary!" Shinobu cries, her hands clasped over her chest.

"My apologies, Shinobu-chan. To continue; I was wondering what gave you the idea to prepare pork fried rice for dinner?" Motoko asks, sitting down with her cup of tea, her sword laid across her knees.

Her hands together in front of her, Shinobu lower her head and looks at the sword master. "W-well, Haruka-san mentioned something about Sempai maybe liking pork fried rice, so I thought, that is to say, perhaps he'd..Aaauuuuu!"

Motoko nods her head. "So you thought to prepare something that Urashima prefers, to make his stay here a more pleasant experience?"

"Yes, seeing as so far he…I mean, you and Naru-sempai…I don't mean.."

"Seeing as so far Urashima has been poorly treated by myself and Naru-san. I believe that is what you mean to say, Shinobu-chan."

Shinobu stares at her feet, unable to meet Motoko's eyes. Her knees trembling, she squeaks, "Um, yes."

Sipping her tea, Motoko asks gently, "Shinobu-chan, please, sit before you faint. I am not going to do anything to you."

The young cook sits in a chair across from Motoko, her hands on her lap. "I-I know that, Motoko-sempai. It's just that, well, when you and Naru-sempai almost attacked Sempai again…."

"Be assured that my attack would not have harmed you, Shinobu-chan," Motoko says, not quite sure of it herself, "My skills are not so amateurish that I would accidentally strike an innocent by-stander."

"Ara, she's right, Shinobu. I've never seen Motoko hit anyone she wasn't aiming at. She's really very good at using her techniques. he-he."

"Ack!" Motoko and Shinobu yelp in unison, turning to see Mutsumi sitting in the chair beside them, holding her melon in her hand. Motoko has her sword half-drawn in fright. Shinobu has her knees drawn up to her chin, her eyes big as plates.

"Mutsumi! Where did you come from? Never mind, I should know by now that your ability to approach unnoticed rivals my own, in spite of the fact you have never had any martial arts training." Motoko says, lowering her sword.

"P-Please don't do that, Mutsumi-san! I nearly p-pee'd myself!" Shinobu whispers.

"Oh dear, it's not like I'm trying to be sneaky. I just came in to sit and rest a little because I was feeling faint. Why, just this morning, I sat down while Naru and Kitsune were discussing going out for lunch tomorrow, and I mentioned that I know a wonderful place that serves……oh my, what were we talking about?"

Rolling her eyes, Motoko reminds the melon lady, "Mutsumi-san, we were discussing dinner."

Tilting her head, Mutsumi replies, "Really? I love dinner. Why, just yesterday, I was telling Su how much I love…"

"Mutsumi!" Motoko and Shinobu both halt the Okinawan before she takes off on another topic.

"Shinobu-chan, I shall not dispute your choice of menu for our meal this evening, as Urashima will most likely be leaving before the day is over tomorrow. I believe I can tolerate having a male around that long. Then things can return to normal. It just is not right for a male to be in an all-girl dormitory." Blushing slightly, Motoko rises and bows. "Until dinner then, I shall go to my room and meditate. Call me when the meal is prepared." The sword master heads up the stairs to her room.

"Do you think Motoko likes Kei-kun, Shinobu? She seems a little flustered when she talks about him." Mutsumi wonders.

"I don't think Motoko-sempai is happy having him around. I mean, after what she and Naru-sempai did to him, I guess she might be feeling a little uncomfortable with Sempai around." Shinobu answers.

"But, didn't he forgive them and apologize for coming to the hot springs? That was so sweet of him, don't you think?" Mutsumi says with a wink and a wave as she walks to the kitchen.

By herself again, Shinobu stares at the kitchen door, then up the stairs. _(That was unusual to say the least!)_ she thinks to herself. "Sempai? Oh, no! I nearly forgot, I promised Haruka that I'd wash his clothes!" Rushing up the stairs, Shinobu slows as she reaches the door to the manager's office. Knocking gently, she asks "Sempai, are you awake?" After a few seconds, she repeats her question.

Receiving no reply, Shinobu quietly slides the door open a tiny bit and peers in. Keitaro is sleeping on a futon near the desk, his chest rising and falling slowly. Shinobu gulps, not ever having entered a man's room by herself, let alone while he was asleep. Opening the door a little more, she looks around and spots his clothes draped over the chair by the desk.

Tip-toeing across the room, she makes her way to the clothes. She picks the shirt up, and is startled when Keitaro mutters wordlessly in his slumber. Shinobu covers her mouth with the shirt in her hands to smother her gasp of fright. As she stands there, watching Keitaro sigh in his sleep, she smells the odor of his cologne and his body on the shirt.

Her eyes whirl as she stands there, sniffing. _(It's just like at lunch. He smells so nice. I would love to do his laundry every day, just to smell his cologne.)_ Shinobu, lost in the sniffing sensation, didn't hear the footsteps coming to the door.

Seeing the door slightly open, Kitsune peeks in and sees the young cook holding Keitaro's shirt in her hands, then covering her mouth with it as Keitaro says something in his sleep. Her smile grows as Shinobu stands there, breathing in the scent of their temporary guest. "Shinobu, what are ya'll doing alone with Keitaro, as if Ah couldn't guess?" The Fox whispers, a gleam in her eye.

Biting down on the shirt to keep from screaming and waking Keitaro up, Shinobu jumps and spins around, facing Kitsune. "Arph midnfd fgoo amystdfhng….." Looking down to see she has Keitaro's shirt in her mouth, Shinobu pulls it out and holds it behind her back. Speaking again, she whispers, "Aaauuuuu! I didn't do anything, Kitsune-san! Honest! I just came in here to get Sempai's clothes like Haruka-san asked, so that I can wash them for him."

Putting her hands up, Kitsune shushes the girl. "Shhhh, not too loud. Keitaro-san is sleeping." Looking down at his face, Kitsune gasps slightly. "Shinobu, look at his face! The bruises. They…they're gone!" she whispers excitedly while pointing at the young man. "H-how is that possible?"

Shinobu stares in awe at Keitaro. She kneels gently beside him and tenderly touches his left arm. "T-the swelling is gone! But, his arm is broken, isn't it?" she whispers in a tiny voice.

"Shinobu, get the rest of Keitaro-san's clothes and let's go. Ah don't want to have him wake up and hear two strangers talking in his room, do ya'll?"

Nodding, she grabs the other clothes on the chair and follows Kitsune to the laundry room.

As Shinobu places Keitaro's clothes into a washer, adding just the right amount of detergents for such a small load, Kitsune leans against one of the dryers; the fingers of her right hand rubbing her chin as she watches. Shinobu turns to her after starting the washer, and asks "Y-you won't tell anyone I accidentally put Sempai's shirt in my mouth, will you, Kitsune-san?"

As the older girl just stands there smiling wickedly, Shinobu becomes worried. "Y-you wouldn't tell anyone, would you?" she asks nervously.

Relenting, Kitsune replies "Don't ya'll worry, Shinobu. There's nothing for me to tell. You were holding Keitaro's shirt, right? And then, when he mumbled in his sleep, you nearly jumped outta your skin because he frightened you and put…"

"Who frightened Shinobu?" Naru asks, walking into the laundry with a basket of clothes. Having only heard the last part of Kitsune's sentence, she continues, pointing upstairs, a hint of anger in her voice; "Did that person do something again?"

"N-no, no, Naru-sempai! N-nothing happened. It's just, that, ah.."

"We was just talking about how she nearly wet herself when Keitaro accidentally put his hand in her shirt at lunch. That's all Naru. It was so cute the way she blushed and squeaked, don't ya'll think?" Kitsune interjects, giving Shinobu's cheek a squeeze to play-up her story, saving the young girl from accidentally revealing she had gone into Keitaro's room alone. _(Last thing he needs is for Naru or Motoko to go off the deep end again, especially in his condition. Even if it looks like he's half-healed already, that broken arm's gonna take at least a few weeks to mend)_ she thinks to herself.

"Oh, well, that's over and done with. And don't tease Shinobu about it; it wasn't her fault, you know." The incident forgotten, Naru asks, "So, what's for dinner, Shinobu? Some miso soup and a salad would be nice." Naru sorts her laundry as she talks; colors, delicates, whites, etc. "Or maybe yakitori and steamed rice with vegetables. Yeah, that sounds good. What do you think?"

"Well, Naru-sempai, I was planning on making pork fried rice tonight." Shinobu says, thankful that Kitsune agreed not to say anything about her 'incident' with Keitaro's shirt.

"Pork fried rice? Why on earth would you cook that? If we wanted pork fried rice, we can get it from the beef bowl shop down the street from Haruka's tea house. You're too good of a cook to waste time making fast food." Naru replies, looking up from her sorting.

"I th-thought it might be nice to prepare one of Sempai's favorites tonight, and Haruka told me he like pork fried rice. I mean, he IS a guest, and we should make him feel comfortable while he's here."Shinobu says, her eyes staring at her feet.

Naru pauses, her eyes glancing at the ceiling as if to see the man sleeping upstairs. Her face goes through a quick succession of emotions before she looks back at Shinobu and Kitsune. A kinder look on her face, she says "Well, I suppose that's okay. You're right, he is a guest here. And, we need to stay on Haruka's good side after what happened."

"Don't ya'll mean you and Motoko need to stay on her good side? Far as Ah can remember, it was ya'll two who attacked Keitaro-san. The rest of us are innocent by-standers." Kitsune drawls, her mouth turned up in a fox-like grin.

"Don't remind me! I know what we did!" Naru looks at her hands, "I do feel pretty bad about it, but,…I mean I think maybe…It was all a misunderstanding, okay? Wrong place, wrong time, you know, that kinda stuff. We didn't mean to hurt Keitaro; Motoko and I just wanted to scare him off because we thought he was a stranger." Naru looks at Kitsune and Shinobu with a pleading look in her eyes.

Kitsune steps over and puts a hand on the honey-haired girls' shoulder, "Ah know ya'll didn't meant to hurt Keitaro; it just kinda happened. So, let's just try to give him every reason to see that we are all nice girls deep down. Treat him like a guest until he leaves. Okay, Naru?"

Looking her friend in the eye, Naru smiles and nods her head. "Right! It's the least we can do, seeing how kind Keitaro was to forgive us for everything." Turning, she asks "Shinobu, pork fried rice sounds wonderful. In fact, I'll help you prepare it, as a gesture of good-will towards Haruka's nephew."

Glancing quickly at Kitsune, Shinobu sputters as she raises her hands in front of her, "No, that won't be necessary, Naru-sempai. There's nothing to making that dish, I can manage, no problem. _(Oh please, don't insist, Naru-sempai! Sempai is still recovering from his injuries and needs all his strength!)_ Shinobu prays in her mind. Of course, whatever entity or entities that are in charge of prayer retrieval at that moment had apparently taken a coffee break.

"Oh, I insist, Shinobu. I'll meet you in the kitchen later and we'll decide on what to put into the pork fried rice. Since we want to impress Keitaro, we should make sure it's sweet. I wonder if sugar or honey works best." Naru happily asks, turning back to her sorting.

Kitsune puts a hand to her mouth, thinking _(Urph! Poor Keitaro! My stomach spins just thinking about Naru and kitchen in the same sentence. Ah hope ya'lls digestive system works as well as your body at healing, cuz Ah think you're gonna need it!)_.

Shinobu leaves to check on supplies for preparing dinner, and goes over in her mind where the smelling salts, stomach medicine, and extra buckets are located, so she can be prepared for that evenings foray into Naru's cooking, or what the other girls describe as, behind her back of course, gastronomical toxic waste.


	6. Chapter 6

**Love Hina – Blind Love **

**Fanfic **

**Chapter Six **

_Kitsune puts a hand to her mouth, thinking (Urph! Poor Keitaro! My stomach spins just thinking about Naru and kitchen in the same sentence. Ah hope ya'lls digestive system works as well as your body at healing, cuz Ah think you're gonna need it!)._

_Shinobu goes over in her mind where the smelling salts, stomach medicine, and extra buckets are located, so she can be prepared for that evenings foray into Naru's cooking, or what the other girls called, behind her back of course, as gastronomical toxic waste._

**Mid-afternoon, Friday, Hinata-sou**

Naru finishes sorting her clothes. Seeing that both washers are in use, she decides to save time, and tosses her normal laundry into the washer Shinobu had used, not knowing it is Keitaro's clothes being washed. Putting the rest of her clothes in the other washer, she heads back to her room for a little studying before she helps prepare dinner.

After about half an hour, Shinobu returns to the laundry room, and removes the clothes from the washer. "Huh? These look like Naru's clothes. She must have mixed them in with Sempai's. Oh well, I'll just sort hers and put them in a different dryer." Whistling as she sorts the laundry, she doesn't notice that a pair of Naru's panties have made their way into the back pocket of Keitaro's pants.

**Meanwhile, downtown, at the Hinata City Municipal Offices**

Haruka sits at a desk, her fingers drumming on her purse as she waits for the lawyer to finish. Thinking to herself, _(I hope this isn't going to cause too many problems, especially for Keitaro. But, after his reaction to the girls, I agree with Granny; He'll be better off this way than anything the Institute can offer him.)_

Gathering the papers, the lawyer says, "Now, to complete the transaction, the other party needs to sign on pages 3, 6, and 8. Once that is done, you just need to have Hina sign page 8 as well, and everything will be set." Placing everything in an envelope, "And the documents are in standard writing as well as Braille, as requested. Will there be anything else, Haruka-san?"

Taking the envelope, Haruka rises and offers her hand. "No, I think everything is in order. Thank you for your assistance."

Shaking her hand, she replies, "Not a problem. Always happy to help. Good-day, Haruka-san."

"Good-day." Haruka departs the office and makes her way out. She leaves the municipal building, and catches the tram to Hinata-sou. As she sits in the train, she pulls out her cell phone and speed-dials a number. After a few rings, "Haruka?"

"Yes, Granny, it's me."

Sitting at in a diner in Tokyo, Granny Hina asks, "I take it since you are calling me now it means Keitaro showed up a day early, eh?"

A wry grin appears on Haruka's face. "You got it. And it looks like you were right. Will you be able to make it for dinner?" Haruka chuckles, "I'm pretty sure Shinobu is going to make fried rice."

Granny smiles, "Ah, I had a feeling she'd be the first to warm to Keitaro. How about the others?"

Sighing, she answers, "To be honest, a bit worse than we thought. Naru and Motoko, well, let's just say I've never seen them so, forceful, with anyone. Kitsune looks like she'll behave, for the most part. And Mutsumi and Su appear to like him well enough."

Setting her cup down, Hina asks, "Keitaro? He's alright?"

Assuring the old woman, Haruka laughs lightly. "He's fine. He's got a broken arm, and some pretty good bruising, but he should be up and about this evening from the look of him. And Granny?"

"Yes child?"

A note of relief in her voice, "I think he's over the hump now. He let go of the grief he's been holding inside. He said being at Hinata felt like coming home. AND to top it off, he already forgave the girls."

Clapping her hands together, Hina exclaims, "Wonderful! I knew he had deep feelings for the old place, in spite of what happened. And I expected no less of Keitaro; he's always been such a sweet and considerate child and now a fine young man. Then that settles it. You have the papers?"

Patting the folder in her lap, "Yes, I just left the lawyer's office, and I'm on my way back to Hinata-sou."

"Fine then. I'll see all of you for dinner. Don't tell anyone, especially Keitaro. I want to get a feel for how everyone else is responding to him being there before we break the news to them all tomorrow at breakfast. We can give Keitaro a heads up tonight, to prepare him." Hina laughs, her mind imagining the scenes that will play out in the morning.

Sensing what Hina is thinking, Haruka grins. "Right. That's what I was planning. We'll see you this evening, then, about dinnertime."

"Good-bye, Haruka."

"See you later, Granny."

Haruka returns her cell phone to her pocket, and leans back in her seat. Smiling to herself, she says quietly, "Things are going to get pretty interesting around the old inn."

**Early evening, in the kitchen of Hinata-sou**

Having folded the washed clothing and quietly taking Keitaro's up to his room, Shinobu rushes back to the kitchen, hoping to get an early start on dinner while Naru is doing her Friday afternoon studying. Not wanting to insult Naru by outright asking her not to assist in the preparation (or devastation) of the meal, she plans to have everything ready before the honey-haired girl gets downstairs. She enters the kitchen and freezes. "Eep!"

Unfortunately, Naru decided to save a little time; she is seated at the kitchen table, studying her notes until Shinobu shows up to start dinner. Looking up at the clock, Naru says, "Shinobu! You're a bit early to start dinner, aren't you? Just give me a minute to run my notes back to my room. Good thing I decided to work down here, I might've forgotten to help with making Keitaro, uh, I mean with making our dinner."

The older girl rushes out the door, a wide smile on her face. _(This'll help me make up for attacking Keitaro. He did forgive us, but I'd feel better if I did something for him.)_ Naru hums a wordless tune to herself as she returns her notes to her bookshelf. As she turns, she stops and looks at her Liddo-kun doll, sitting on the board in the middle of her study area. A sudden urge to check up on their guest strikes her, but, she doesn't want to be caught dead knocking on his door, or going into his room. "It wouldn't hurt if I just snuck a peek. After all, he's asleep, and, even if he were awake, he wouldn't see me anyways." She whispers.

Getting on her knees, Naru takes a deep breath and grabs the board her Liddo-kun is sitting on. Sliding it to the side, she exposes the hole between her room and Granny's. Smiling to herself, she thinks of how often Granny would pass notes to her, on things that needed to be done around the inn, through this very hole. _(It really was wonderful of Granny to take accidental case of wood rot, and turn it into something that makes me feel more responsible around here.) _she thinks as she pokes her head down.

To stare straight into Keitaro's face.

**The manager's room**

Keitaro, lying semi-awake on the futon in his grandmother's room, enjoys the gentle sounds of the residents going about whatever it is they do on Friday afternoons.

He hears the dim sounds of a television, seeming like it is coming from downstairs, along with an occasional screams of delight _**'Yay!' 'Woohoo!'**_ , encouragement _**'Come on!' 'Run, ya nag, run!'**_, and disappointment _**'Oh Spit!'**_ _**'Dang it!'**_. _(That sounds like Konno-san. I'd guess she's watching a horse race or something. Whatever it is, it must be pretty interesting for her to cheer like that.)_

Upstairs, he can just make out the sound of someone moving around. _(Whoever that is, they have a very light step. I'll bet it's Aoyama-san. It's almost like she barely touches the floor, she's so careful about how she walks.)_

In the hall outside his room, he hears a strange, swishing sound that seems to move from one end of the hallway to the other, and then back again, over and over. Accompanying it are the giggles and yelps of one of the younger girls. He smiles, _(I think that's Kaolla-san. I have no idea what's going on, but she seems to be having a lot of fun, whatever it is.)_

Ever since he awoke, the smell of freshly dried clothing has filled the air of his room. _(I can't hear her, but I guess Shinobu-chan has been doing laundry, like Haruka mentioned. It was good of her to bring it back to my room.)_ Reaching out, he finds his washed clothing folded on the chair beside the futon, and decides to get dressed while he is waiting for his aunt to return.

Footsteps above him bring him back to his surroundings. Stretching his back and scratching his left arm near where the bone broke, he thinks _(That must be Narusegawa. She said she lived upstairs from Granny's room. She sounded like she was in a hurry coming up the stairs, but now, nothing. She must be looking for something.) _

Finding the dresser, he locates his belongings arranged on top of it. Figuring he doesn't really need much, since he isn't going anywhere right now, he just takes his handkerchief and shoves it into his back pocket, not noticing the pair of underwear there. A scraping noise catches Keitaro's attention. Turning towards the sound, he realizes it seems to be coming from his ceiling. _(What's that? That sound doesn't make any sense.) _

Stepping forward, Keitaro carefully moves in the direction of the noise. A scream pierces the air.

Naru is frightened out of her wits, having expected Keitaro would still be asleep, but then coming face to upside-down face with him. In her fright, she screams "Aaaiiieee!" and puts her hand to her mouth, causing her to over-balance. As she slides forward, her cries become more panic-stricken. "Aaaaah! I'm…I'm…! Help!"

Throughout the dorm, everyone hears Naru's scream and rushes to her room.

Keitaro, not understanding how, but realizing that someone is falling from the ceiling, closes the distance and, putting his arms up, feels one of the girls as she falls. Bracing himself as best he can, he catches her, a yelp of pain escaping his lips as the burden hits his left arm. Dropping backwards, he cushions the girl's fall with his body, getting the air knocked out of his lungs and slamming his head to the floor, disorienting him.

Naru, having expected a brutal, head-first fall ending in serious injury, is surprised to realize the worst of her injuries is her nose, which bumped against her rescuer's knee as he collapsed beneath her. She turns her head and looks at Keitaro, lying beneath her and moaning. Spinning around, she puts her hands on his shoulders, "KEITARO! Are you alright! Say something. Oh, Kami-sama, please talk to me."

"I…I..can't…breath!" Keitaro manages to get out. Naru, her fear at falling forgotten, immediately bends down intent on saving his life. She places her lips to his, and starts to breathe into his body. _(Okay! Stay calm, Naru! Stay calm! Breathe, one-one thousand. Breathe, one-one thousand. Breathe.)_

In-between breaths, Keitaro struggles beneath her. He manages to say, between the moments when her lips are locked around his, "Narusegawa" breathe "-san" breathe "You're" breathe "Sitting" breathe "On" breathe "My" breathe "Stomach!" breathe.

_(That's it, Keitaro! Fight, stay with me. What did you say? I'm sitting on your stomach. Breathe, darn it, breathe! Your stomach?)_ Naru opens her eyes to see Keitaro, blood oozing rapidly from his nostrils, his eyes closed with two looks competing for space on his face; panic at trying to breathe, and, a slight….smile? She shifts her weight, and Keitaro starts breathing again.

For what seems like an eternity, Naru freezes, her lips still on Keitaro's, but no longer trying to breathe for him. _(Keitaro couldn't breathe! I was trying to breathe for him! I was sitting on his stomach. My lips are on his! He couldn't breathe. My lips! His stomach! His lips! Breathe! Sitting on! Oh my! I'm k-k-kis..)_ her eyelids slowly start to close….

Whistles and cat-calls suddenly reach Naru's ears. "Woohoo! Ya'll go, girl! That looks like fun, can Ah join in?" Kitsune's voice says, dripping with barely suppressed laughter.

"Urashima, I mean, Naru, unhand that poor, innocent male!" Motoko says, a hint of mirth also in her speech.

"Oh my! Is this a private party, or can we join in?" Mutsumi asks, tilting her head and rubbing her hand on her melon.

Naru, her face blushing three shades of red, launches herself away from the young man's prone figure. Keitaro brings his left hand to his lips and moans, his mind still in a fog. "An angel fell from heaven and kissed me!" he says as his hand flops back to the floor.

"I, I, I, I,…it was an accident! I fell, he caught me, I thought he wasn't breathing, so I…wait a second?" Naru turns and stares at Keitaro, still lying on the floor. His arms are out to his sides. BOTH of his arms are out to his sides. His LEFT arm, his BROKEN left arm, lies there, seemingly whole again.

Naru sputters, "H-his arm? B-but, it's broken! How?" _(An angel? H-he called me an angel!)_ "He shouldn't have been able to catch me!" _(An angel!)_ "He shouldn't have been able to…" _(H-his angel, m-maybe?)_

Naru's eyes glaze over slightly as she touches her lips, lost in the fantasy. She's wearing a beautiful white dress, kneeling in a sun-dappled field, with great flowing white wings spreading from her back. Keitaro lies on the ground in front of her, his head in her lap, looking up at her with eyes full of love and devotion. With a smile on his face just for her, he calls her "My Angel!" She looks into his eyes and replies, "Ow!"

"Earth to Naru, Earth to Naru, come in, Naru!" Kitsune says as she raps her knuckles on Naru's head.

Slapping the Fox's hand away, Naru replies "I hear you, I hear you, you don't have to hit me so hard!" as she rubs her head.

"W-we were worried, Naru-sempai. You were just sitting there whispering 'Keitaro, Keitaro' over and over." Shinobu says, gripping a frying pan in her hands. Looking at the center of the room, she adds, "Is Sempai okay?"

Su looks over Motoko's head from her vantage point on the sword master's shoulders, "I don't know Shinobus. It kinda looks like Narus broke him again. And I still haven't gottens my chance to plays with Keitaros."

Naru turns, remembering that Keitaro just saved her from serious injury. She lowers herself to her knees beside him as the others rush down the stairs to the manager's room and kneel around him as well. Gently touching his shoulder, she shakes him, "Keitaro? Keitaro, are you okay?" The others also voice their concern for the young man lying on the floor.

A grin spreads across Keitaro's face. Shaking his head slightly, he murmurs, "I'm surrounded by angels. I'm in heaven! Wh-what happened? I thought I heard…" Suddenly wide awake, Keitaro jerks to a sitting position. "Narusegawa-san! She was falling! Is she alright? Where, who?"

Putting her hand on his shoulder, Naru says, "I-it's okay, Keitaro! Calm down. You caught me, Keitaro! I'm okay. But, are you alright? I thought you're arm…" confused, Naru can't put into words her question. She shudders as the young man places his right hand on her arm and squeezes it ever so gently.

"Thank goodness. I heard something strange from the ceiling, and the next thing I know, I felt someone falling! Uh, could someone explain to me what happened?" he says, confusion replacing the relief in his voice.

"Urashima, is it not obvious?" Motoko says with a hint of exasperation, pointing to the ceiling above him. "It is plainly clear that Naru fell through…Oh Spirits! Forgive me, Urashima-san! I, I forgot your blindness!" Motoko begs, bowing to Keitaro.

Rubbing the back of his head with his left hand, he grins as he replies, "Oh, that's alright, Aoyama-san. I prefer to be treated like anyone else, not like a helpless invalid." Everyone stares at him using his left arm.

Su says excitedly "Hey, Keitaros! Ya ain't brokens no more! Hurray! Now you can plays with me before ya leaves!" She jumps from Motoko's shoulders to land beside Keitaro, rubbing her hands on his now healed arm. "How does ya do it, Keitaros? I ain't never seen nobodys heal as fast as you do."

Turning his face towards her voice, he smiles at her and says, "Well, it's not one hundred percent healed, Kaolla-san. It still aches a bit."

"Aches a bit? Keitaro, ya'll've got to be kiddin' us! Just a few hours ago, that arm was broken! I can understand your bruises going away when Ah saw ya sleeping earlier, but a broken arm?" Kitsune states, disbelief warring with the facts of her on eyes.

"Well, I don't understand it myself. I used to get hurt a lot as a kid. But since I was about ten, I found that I started healing faster whenever I got hurt. Must be a way my body compensates for being blind. They say your other senses get better, so…." Keitaro shrugs his shoulders, his tone slightly unsure, as he no more understands it than they do.

"Oh dear, it is a shame that it didn't work when you lost your sight…Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring that up." Mutsumi says, bowing.

"It's okay, Otohime-san. If I hadn't lost my vision, I may never have developed this. So, you can say some good came out of my accident. That's how I look at it." Keitaro replies, smiling at them.

"Wait a minute!" Naru says, turning to look Kitsune, a slightly annoyed look in her eyes. "What was that you said about seeing his bruises had healed while he was _sleeping_?"

"Oh Spit! Ah, uh, Ah did say something like that, didn't Ah? Heh-heh." Kitsune looks around for the quickest exit from the manager's room. "Well, Naru, ya see, it was like this. Uh, that is Ah was, hmmm."

"She w-was helping me to gather Sempai's clothes to wash them as Haruka-san requested, since it would have been impolite for me to be in here by myself. That's when she and I both saw Sempai's bruises had healed!" Shinobu interjects, both saving Kitsune from having to explain, and from her accidently mention the shirt-in-mouth incident."Oh, is that all." Naru says, her anger melting away.

Su interrupts. "Hey, Narus! Your nose is bleeding! Ya see something down here ya shouldn't have?" she asks innocently.

As Naru blushes from Su's comment, Keitaro gets to his knees, his right hand still on Naru's arm. "Narusegawa-san! Why didn't you tell me you were hurt? I'm so sorry I couldn't catch you as well as I should have." Reaching quickly into his back pocket, Keitaro pulls his handkerchief out, Naru's panties caught in his grip as well. "Here, please use this to stop the bleeding."

Naru accepts the offering from Keitaro and starts to bring it up to her face. "Thank you, Keitaro! Please, don't apologize! You kept me from being hurt really bad. If I had hit the floor head first, there's no telling…" Naru's voice trails off as she sees a pair of panties in her hand.

"You, you, you….Pervert! What the heck do you think you're doing, going around with women's underwear in your pockets? You get off feeling them in there, huh? You filthy, disgusting low-life!" Naru growls through her clenched teeth.

Motoko draws her sword, "Urashima! So, your true nature is revealed! Your vile ways shall not be allowed in this place, defiling the young women under my protection." She swears, a bluish glow forming around her blade.

Keitaro, knowing right off the bat that something isn't right, realizes he is about to be struck, unlike when he arrived that morning. "P-please, I don't know how they, I didn't, I don't…" he puts his palms out in front of him, steeling himself for what is about to happen.

Naru rears back and delivers a power Naru-Backslap, sending him spinning across the room to slam against the window, where he hangs motionless for a few seconds. Motoko follows with "Shinmei-ryu no Zanganken! God's Cry Attack of The Stone Cleaving Sword!" Keitaro is blasted through the window, his body tumbling through the air to disappear into the evening, fading away in a flash of light.

Kitsune, Mutsumi, Su and Shinobu stand still, struck dumb at witnessing a second attack on Haruka's nephew that day.

Kitsune whimpers "Oh Kami-sama! Wh-what d-did y-you two d-do to Keitaro-san?"

Mutsumi bites her fist, unable to speak.

Su looks at the hole, "Darn, I still ain't gots a chance to plays with Keitaros when ya breaks him again." She says, a sad look on her face.

Broken from her trance, Shinobu cries. "Aaauuuuu! N-Naru-sempai! Those are YOUR panties."

Naru spins on Shinobu and looks at the cloth in her hand to see a handkerchief tangled with the underwear in her hand. "That's even WORSE! He went through my stuff, the dirty pervert! When I get my hands on him, I'll…"

"Naru-sempai? Those w-were the panties you w-washed today, aren't they?" Shinobu asks, stepping right up to the honey-haired girl.

Naru looks again. "Y-yes, they are. But, I don't see what that has to do with Keitaro…"

"Did you wash them in an empty washer?" Shinobu continues, her hands held together in front of her as she glances worriedly at the window.

"Uh, no. You had already put your clothes in there…." Naru say, still holding the items.

"No. Those weren't my clothes. Naru-sempai, Haruka-san asked me to wash Sempai's clothes today. When I emptied the washer, I found your clothes and his were in there together. After I dried them, I folded everything. I didn't see those panties." Shinobu whispers, her mind on her Sempai.

Naru stands there for a few moments, until her mind puts everything together. Dropping the handkerchief and panties, her hands come together under her chin. She turns towards the window and whimpers, "Oh no! Keitaro!"

Motoko hand trembles, nearly dropping her sword. "Spirits forgive us! Urashima could not have known your clothes had been mixed with his! It was a mistake! And he, he was, he is innocent!"

Kitsune recovers and grabs Shinobu's hand, "Oh Spit! We'all gotta go find Keitaro! Come on Shinobu, we gotta hurry."

As they head for the door, "Mutsumi asks, "Oh dear, how are you going to find him? We have no idea how far he might have gone." Kitsune pauses, pondering the Okinawan's observation.

Shinobu looks back, trying to drag Kitsune with her. "Does it matter? Sempai is blind! We have look for him. And he's already been hurt once, how much worse do you think it is now? He might be, he might,…Aaauuuuu! We have to hurry!" Shinobu forces Kitsune to start running again.

The others, with barely a glance at each other, rush out of the room to find the blind man, praying that Shinobu's fears do not come true.


	7. Chapter 7

**Love Hina – Blind Love**

**Fanfic**

_As they head for the door, "Mutsumi asks, "Oh dear, how are you going to find him? We have no idea how far he might have gone." Kitsune pauses, pondering the Okinawan's observation._

_Shinobu looks back, trying to drag Kitsune with her. "Does it matter? Sempai is blind! We have look for him. And he's already been hurt once, how much worse do you think it is now? He might be, he might,…Aaauuuuu! We have to hurry!" Shinobu forces Kitsune to start running again._

_The others, with barely a glance at each other, rush out of the room to find the blind man, praying that Shinobu's fears do not come true._

**Chapter Seven **

**Evening on the grounds of Hinata-sou**

Pulling himself out of the hot springs, Keitaro checks himself with his hands. Except for wet clothes, he finds nothing damaged. "Whew, I guess I got lucky this time. Man, those girls are pretty physical." Moving around carefully, Keitaro finds the path to the changing room doors and regains his bearings. Moving slowly, he makes his way back up to his room to apologize for whatever it was that set the girls off.

Exiting the front door, the girls spend a few frantic moments trying to decide which way to go.

"He went this way! I'm sure of it" Naru cries, pointing towards the kitchen annex.

Kitsune glances towards the stairs "No, he musta gone this way, probably half-way to Hinata Seaside Park!"

Motoko rolls her eyes. "I did not strike Urashima with my full technique. He could not have gone more than a few dozens of feet. I recommend we search the woods over there." She says, pointing towards a wooded area near the dorm.

Su scratches her head. "Ya thinks this is a rescue operation? Seems ta me that you might've killed Keitaros dead as a door mouse. If so, I gots just the thing." Pulling a remote control out, she presses a button and a tank rolls out of the bushes. "This is my flame-thrower mecha Mark One. Ya cremates yer dead in Japan, right?"

Shinobu blanches at Su's remark. "We have to find Sempai! We have to!" Running around the corner of the inn, the young cook leaves the others pondering directions as she heads for the hot springs.

Not able to agree on any other path, the girls follow Shinobu. As they come around the corner, they see Shinobu staring at the path to the changing room door. Looking, the all see the unmistakable footprints leading from the hot springs to the dorm.'

"Sempai? Sempai!" Shinobu calls out, and rushes inside, closely followed by everyone else. They see several towels, newly dampened, sitting on the shelf.

"It…It cannot be? Urashima, even if he only landed in the hot springs, should have been in no condition to just get up and walk back inside the inn!" Motoko remarks, poking a wet towel with her sword.

Kitsune: "Ah don't know about that. He seemed pretty healed from his earlier beatin'. I wouldn't be surprised if he was back in his room already looking for us!" she whispers, not quite believing her own thoughts.

With barely a glance at each other, the girls rush into the dorm and up the stairs, crashing into Keitaro as he makes his way down. "Whoa, it's me!" He cries, not knowing which girl, or girls, ran into him.

**A few moments earlier**

Having found no one in his room, Keitaro decides that maybe they were concerned about him and went looking. "Maybe I'd better wait down stairs so they'll see me as soon as they get back in. I wouldn't want them to be worried over me for no reason."

As he walks down the hall, he hears the sounds of someone, apparently in the changing room. "I guess they figured out I came back that way. I'd better hurry downstairs." His hand against the wall, he moves carefully to the stairwell and starts down, only to hear numerous footsteps approaching. Stopping dead still, he braces his hands in front of his body; "Whoa, it's me!" he calls out as they crash into him, knocking him backwards to the stairs, his head striking the steps.

As everyone picks themselves up, the girls stare at Keitaro. Clothes still slightly damp but seemingly uninjured, he sits there with a confused look on his face while rubbing the back of his head. _(That's not good! I haven't seen stars after hitting my head in years, and now twice in one day! I'd better be more careful around these girls or I could really end up hurt pretty bad!)_

Grinning while sitting absolutely still, Keitaro remarks "I think it may be better if I wait for you girls to rise first. It may not be the gentlemanly thing to do, but it is safer for me."

Naru responds, "Uh, Keitaro, I want to , that is, I'm…I mean…"

Keitaro raises his had to stop Naru. Bowing his head, his smile fading, he replies "I'm sorry, Narusegawa-san. If I hadn't come here, none of this would ever have happened. It may be for the best if I just get my things and leave. I can always talk to my grandmother some other time; find out what she wanted to talk to me about."

Rubbing his knees, Keitaro frowns. "Unfortunately, I shouldn't go out in these wet clothes, and I don't have a change of dry ones. Would it be too much of a bother if I dried these before I go?" he asks, his face turned towards the girls.

Kitsune sputters "Keitaro! Ya'll just saved Naru from serious injury, get yer ass handed to ya fer ya'lls trouble, and YOU'RE apologizing to us and saying ya is leaving?"

Motoko stands at the base of the stairs. "Urashima is only a visitor here; we have no right, reason or authority to make him stay. This IS a girls' only dormitory, as I may remind everyone."

_(He's gonna leave. I hit him, and scare him away. After Granny Hina invites him over, I'm gonna be blamed when she shows up and he's gone.)_ Naru thinks. "Keitaro, just think a minute, okay? Granny did invite you over as a break from being at the, the Institute, and it would be a shame if you missed seeing her again." Realizing her blunder, Naru backpedals. "I meant to say, you wouldn't want to miss talking with her in person again."

"That would indeed be a shame, wouldn't it, Keitaro my boy?"

Everyone spins around. Keitaro's frown is suddenly replaced with an ear-splitting smile "Granny! You're here! I didn't hear you come in!" Keitaro cries, standing and making his way down the stairs.

"Now, now, Keitaro, you never hear me coming unless I want you to, you know that." Granny Hina stands at the door, Haruka at her side. "Haruka and I just finished having some tea down at the Tea Shop, and figured it was time to come up and talk to you. I take it from the look of things it been an interesting day for everyone here, eh?" she says, smiling at the girls.

Rubbing his neck, Keitaro says "Well, the girls didn't know I was coming to see you for a day visit, so I don't blame them for anything that's happened. And to be honest, I just decided that maybe it's better if I leave before I cause any more trouble."

The girls all start talking at once, trying to tell Granny that it was just simple misunderstandings or Keitaro's clumsiness, or it was just accidents. Naru especially tries to assure Granny that there are no problems. Granny stands there listening to everyone for a few seconds before she raises her hand. "Tut-tut. That's all in the past. Haruka, please see Keitaro back up to the manager's room so he can change. Shinobu, dear, please collect his things and put them in a dryer after Haruka leaves them outside the door. The rest of you, sit and have some tea while Haruka and I talk to Keitaro."

Haruka, a folder in one hand and shopping bags in the other, walks Keitaro up the stairs, Shinobu right behind them "You just wait outside the door a minute while Keitaro gets out of those wet things. When we get back down to the dining room, I'm sure Granny is going to want to know why Keitaro was sitting on the stairs soaking wet."

A few minutes later, as the girls sit in the dining room drinking tea, joined by Shinobu who has collected Keitaro's things (again) and put them in the dryer. Kitsune looks at her and, laughing, asks "Did ya'll make sure Naru didn't leave anything in the dryer?"

"Y-yes, I made sure. I mean, the dryer was empty." Shinobu sputters.

Naru holds her tea cup and stares at the table. Motoko, seeing this, asks "What is the matter, Naru?"

Looking up, she meets the sword maiden's eyes. "What do you think Keitaro is going to tell Granny about what has happened to him since he arrived here? We may be her tenants, but he's her grandson. If it's our word against his, I shudder to think of the mood she's going to be in when she comes back down."

Motoko nods in understanding. "I fear our actions leave little to be forgiven. We attacked Urashima, who is not only her grandchild, but is blind as well. In fact, he has been attacked several times this day. Granny will not be pleased, to say the least."

The girls sit, talking in hushed tones, drinking their tea for a few minutes until they hear Keitaro yell "W-WHAT?"

"Oh Spit! That doesn't sound good." Kitsune says. "Granny musta said something about us that confirms what Keitaro had been telling her."

Shinobu whimpers as she sips her tea. "You don't think he's going to ask Granny to make any of us leave, do you?"

Naru stares at her tea and shakes her head. "I don't know, Shinobu. Think of it from his point of view. Blind man attacked by dorm full of girls twice in one day. Granny is going to blow her stack."

Motoko agrees. "Hina-san is very forgiving, if strict. However, I have my fears that her generosity will not extend to our physically abusing her grandson."

Su sits relatively still (for her). "But, Keitaros looks like a nice guy. You don't really think he woulds ask her to do anything likes that, Shinobu, would you?"

"Oh dear, we really don't know, do we?" Mutsumi ponders, hands on her melons.

They sit quietly for another quarter of an hour. Hearing footsteps on the stairs, they all jump up and face the three people coming down the stairs.

**Upstairs**

After informing Keitaro that she has a change of clothes for him, he gratefully changes out of the wet clothes. Noticing that the clothes fit him very well, Keitaro asks "How did you know my sizes? These clothes fit like a glove."

From outside his door, Haruka replies "I'll let Granny explain that. I assume you're dressed now?" Haruka looks down at Granny, who nods.

Keitaro say "Yes, I guess you can come in now."

Entering the room, Granny says "So, Keitaro, how have my girls been treating you? Since it isn't raining, there must be an interesting story as to why you were sitting on the stairs in wet clothes."

With Haruka guiding him to the kotatsu table, Keitaro rubs the back of his neck. "Well, I kinda had an accident out by the hot springs. I, ah, was walking past and slipped on a wet spot and fell in. No big deal. I was on my way to get a dry robe from your room when the girls ran into me on the stairs."

Smiling, Granny replies "Now, now, Keitaro, you've never been a good liar. However, if you feel more comfortable with that story, I'll accept it. But, only on one condition."

After waiting for an explanation, Keitaro, wanting to break the silence, jokes, "On the condition I move in and try to be friends with them, huh Granny?" he laughs.

Seconds tick by. Then some more. Granny, looking at Haruka, says "Well……….."

Eyebrows raising, Keitaro sputters "W-WHAT!"

"Hush, child. You wouldn't want to scare anyone yelling like that. And no, that is not exactly what I mean. Haruka, please hand me the papers."

With a rustling sound, Keitaro hears a folder exchanging hands. Granny continues "Haruka has told me how you feel being here. I understand that it has been hard on you these past fifteen years; more so since the death of your parents. I have talked it over with the supervisory board of the Institute, and, if you are willing, they have agreed to release you to come live here at Hinata."

As Granny and Haruka look on, Keitaro's hands start to shake. His lip trembling, the young man whispers "I-I can live here? I don't have to go back to the Institute anymore?" A tear falls down his cheek from behind his dark glasses. "I-I'd give anything if this isn't a dream."

Patting his shoulder, Haruka assures him, "It's not a dream, Kei. Granny told them that you would still be able to study for college here. And you'll also be gainfully employed, so you won't have to rely on the insurance money alone to get by."

Wiping his face with the back of his hand, Keitaro contemplates what Haruka said. "Employed? You mean someone is willing to hire me? Doing what?"

Granny smiles "As of today, you are the new manager of Hinata-sou. Congratulations, my boy!"

Keitaro is speechless. Again, his eyebrows rise above his glasses as he turns his head towards his grandmother. "M-manager? Of Hinata? B-b-but how am I supposed to manage a dormitory?"

Placing the folder in his hands, Granny says "Everything is right here. As well as printed, it's all in Braille, so you can go over it yourself. It explains your duties and responsibilities, to the inn and to your tenants."

Keitaro's fingers, having been scanning the first page of the folder, freeze. "Oh heck, I just realized! Y-you want me to be the manager for those, those girls down there! After today, I don't think they'd want me to stick around for dinner, let alone live here AND be their manager."

Granny replies "It's not their choice, Keitaro. I want you to be the manager, and as long as you can accomplish the duties as described in that folder, they have no reason to complain. I have every confidence that you will do well here."

"And I've agreed to help out until you get your routine settled down." Haruka says. "The girls don't know it, but if you pick up the phone downstairs and press 1-1, it'll speed-dial the Tea Shop. Granny and I figured that would be easier for you rather than trying to dial the whole number in any emergency."

Shaking his head, Keitaro replies "I really appreciate the offer, Granny. I really do. But, I can't disregard what those girls will think, even if I am your grandson. They seem like really nice people, and I wouldn't want to be a burden to them."

"Tut-tut, dear boy. It is exactly that attitude that proves you are an excellent choice for the position. You have always thought about others before yourself." Granny tells him, patting his arm. "So, do you accept the terms?"

Sitting still for a few moments, Keitaro then straightens his shoulders and lifts his head. "I'm honored at the trust you show in me, Granny. I promise won't let you down."

"That's what I wanted to hear. I'll finish the paperwork with the Institute in the morning. I told them to not expect to see you around again. Haruka and I will let you have until morning to get used to the idea, before we break the news to the girls at breakfast. I assume you learned how to handle cooking at the Institute?"

Keitaro rubs his neck and grins. "As long as everything is kept in the same place, I can do a pretty decent job of it. My presentation may be off a bit, but I've been told I'm a fair cook."

"Great, then you shall also prepare breakfast for the girls tomorrow, to help convince them you are able to handle the responsibilities. Haruka, will you take Keitaro through the kitchen tonight and explain where everything is located."

Haruka answers, "Of course, Granny. And I'll keep an eye on him in the morning during his first run through, just in case he needs a pointer. Oh, and before I forget, we brought all your things from the Institute over this afternoon. They are in the suitcases next to the window when you are ready to unpack. I can help, or you can ask one of the girls about shelf space tomorrow."

Keitaro sits there nodding his head as everything that has occurred in the last half hour sinks in.

"Well, now that that is settled, let's join the girls downstairs for some tea before dinner. Shinobu is the regular cook, but you will be expected, as the manager, to do your share. That's why making breakfast for them tomorrow should set you off on a good start with them." Granny rises and waits for Keitaro to step over to the door, where she puts her arm in his elbow. "Yes, I know you remember the layout of Hinata like the back of your hand, this is just your old Granny taking a moment to be close to her grandson. You lead."

Keitaro smiles down at his grandmother. "Right! Shall we?" He raises his right arm to indicate the door, which he reaches out confidently to find and slide open.

**Downstairs**

The girls rise, seeing Keitaro leading Granny Hina down the stairs, Haruka right behind them. Granny takes the lead, and guides Keitaro over to the couch to sit. Naru happens to be on the same couch and makes to step away for Granny, but she waves her back. "No, child, you stay there. Haruka and I will grab some tea and be right back. You just sit here and relax, Keitaro, we'll bring some tea for you as well."

"Th-thanks Granny" Keitaro says as he sits carefully on the couch he feels on the back of his legs. The girls all resume seating as the two older women pass through the dining room door.

A few nervous moments pass, as no one can think of anything to say. Suddenly, Motoko speaks. "So, Urashima. What is going to happen to us?" The others stop and stare at Keitaro, who turns his head towards Motoko with a questioning look on his face.

"Huh? What do you mean 'what's going to happen to you'? I don't understand." Keitaro says.

Kitsune continues "Ya'll know, what are Granny and Haruka going to do to us?"

Still unaware what they are talking about Keitaro can only repeat "Huh? I don't understand."

Beside him, Naru responds, a hint of anger in her voice. "You were up there long enough to tell Granny everything we did since you showed up. It can't have been a pretty discussion, and we all heard you yell. So, are we going to be kicked out of here?" A vein throbs on Naru's forehead as she clenches her fist.

Mutsumi and Su, along with Shinobu, look on anxiously.

Keitaro thinks_ (A-after everything, my walking in on them while bathing, showing up here with no warning, they think I told Granny to kick them out?)._ He clears his throat, "Oh. N-nothing is going to happen." He rubs the back of his neck nervously.

Naru continues "Oh, you're gonna try and make us believe that your own grandmother is going to ignore the fact that we attacked you twice, and let us all stay here anyway? What kind of idiot are you?"

"Apparently the kind of idiot who told his grandmother his clothing was wet because he slipped and fell into the hot springs. And the kind of idiot that never mentioned that wasn't the only incident that happened to him today, Naru." The girls spin in their seats to face Granny, who, along with Haruka, walks out of the dining room, Haruka carrying two glasses of tea, one of which she places in Keitaro's hand as she sits on the opposite side of him as Naru.

Sputtering, Naru stares at Keitaro. "Y-you didn't t-tell her? But w-why?"

Keitaro turns towards Naru and bows his head. "This is your home, not mine. I was wrong to walk in on you all while you were bathing, and I did apologize for that. I don't know what I did wrong the second time, but for that, I also apologize. I didn't tell Granny anything because I didn't want you to get in trouble because of me. Please, Granny, can you just forgive and forget?"

The girls look at Keitaro with unbelieving expressions on their faces, and then they all turn to Granny, hope warring with their guilt.

Granny smiles at the girls as she steps over and places a hand on Keitaro's arm. "Since Keitaro has already forgiven you all, I have nothing to add to the matter. I'm proud of my grandson for standing up for you all, even though you are total strangers."

Shinobu stands and bows to Keitaro "I-I'm sorry Sempai. I hope you won't think badly of us when you leave."

Su leaps over to land between Keitaro and Naru. "Yippees! Keitaros is alright in my book. I just wish ya could stays around and plays with me."

Mutsumi "Oh my, what a sweet young man, and so forgiving, too. You really deserve my best melons!"

"Well, I guess he's okay. Thanks for being such an understanding guy, Keitaro-san." Kitsune says, a slight blush on her face.

Motoko sits quietly. _(What is Urashima thinking? He can't possibly be so naïve as to believe we'll forget his actions just because he doesn't have the nerve to admit he was beaten by a few females. However, he does seem genuinely concerned for us, strangers though we may be.)_

Naru puts her hand on Su's shoulder to stop her bouncing around. "Uh, well, I guess if you look at it that way, I guess Granny's right."

Haruka turns to Shinobu "Could you get dinner started? And don't forget to set an extra place for Keitaro. He will be staying overnight," before the girls can argue "and for HIS safety, he can stay down in the Tea Shop apartment. He is a guest, you know."

Granny replies. "No. I will stay in the apartment. Keitaro will stay in the manager's room. After everything he's gone through, I don't want to risk him losing his footing on the stairs and hurting himself."

Shinobu rises and looks around at the others. "Hai. Dinner will be ready in half an hour."

"Wait for me, Shinobu." Naru says as she also rises. She turns quickly to explain "I told her I'd help make dinner. We shouldn't be long."

Shinobu looks at the other girls for support, but they are unsure what they can say as Naru walks to the kitchen, whistling a wordless tune.

Shinobu mouths "What about Sempai?" to the others, who bow their heads at the thought of what he is soon to go through, making the rest of the day look like a pony ride. Touching the pocket of her apron, she ensures herself that the stomach pills are still there. "Ex-excuse me, I've got to stop, uh, I mean, help Naru!"

As the young cook hurries to the kitchen, Granny calls out "Do not set a place for me, Shinobu. I ate a rather large meal in Tokyo this afternoon. I think I will go down to Haruka's and turn in for the night." Standing, she turns to Haruka. "I trust you have a handle on everything here?" she asks, slightly emphasizing the word 'everything'.

Haruka nods, understanding that Granny is taking this opportunity to leave on her un-announced (to the girls) trip. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Take it easy, Granny." Haruka waves to the older woman.

"Well, girls, I'll see you. Don't be too rough on Keitaro, he IS my favorite grandson."

"He's your only grandson." Haruka corrects her.

"Tish-tish." Granny says with a backwards wave of her hand as she walks to the door. Turning to face everyone, she bows "Good night."

Everyone rises and calls out a 'Good night' to Granny, and she heads out the door.

As they sit down, Keitaro turns to Haruka and whispers "I'd feel better if Granny was still here."

Haruka pretends to sip her tea as she whispers back. "Don't worry. Everything's gonna be okay."

They all sit there, barely speaking a word. Haruka has to encourage the conversation along when no one can think of anything to say. After an uncomfortable few minutes of completely useless small talk, Shinobu comes and walks to stand in front of Keitaro and announce, to everyone's relief "Dinner is ready."

When Keitaro stands, she asks, sputtering, "W-would you l-like me to e-escort you, S-Sempai?"

Keitaro stands and is surprised to feel both of his elbows are taken in hand. Shinobu, obviously, on his left, and to his shock, Naru on his right. Sensing Keitaro's sudden freezing, Haruka glances over to see Naru and Shinobu looking at each other, then to her, huge blushes on their faces.

Smiling slightly, she rises and says, "Just don't tear him in half walking him to the table. Okay?" Turning, she heads for the dining room.

Embarrassed, the two girls smile at each other and nod. Holding on more confidently, they hurriedly escort Keitaro towards the dining room.

Naru tries to hide her emotions. _(I can't believe he was willing to deceive Granny just to protect us. He seems so sweet.)_

Shinobu contemplates the situation. _(I hope Naru-sempai is gentle with Sempai this time.)_

Neither girl is paying much attention to the path they are taking to the dining room, that is, until Keitaro suddenly jerks out of their arms.

SMACK! "OW!" THUNK!

Spinning towards the young man, they see Keitaro lying on the ground, a hand to his head.

"Oh, Spit! Are ya'll trying to give Keitaro-san a concussion?" Kitsune yelps, rushing over to the prone victim, kneeling and placing his head against her chest.

Mutsumi hurries to his other side "Oh my! Oh dear! Poor baby!" and drags him from Kitsune's grip to hold Keitaro's head between her breasts like a mother comforting a child.

Kitsune pulls Keitaro back "Hang on, ya'll can't hog Keitaro-san!" and shoves his face between her 'babies'.

Mutsumi pulls Keitaro back to comfort him.

Then Kitsune.

Mutsumi. Kitsune. Etc…

Blood dribbles non-stop from both Keitaro's nostrils as a goofy smile covers his features. "Gu-gu-gu-gu-gu-gu-gu!"

Motoko, with Su on her shoulders, places her hand to her forehead and shakes her head. "Naru-san, Shinobu-chan. How many times have the two of you passed that pillar and yet forget it now?" she asks.

Su: "I thinks ya broke him again."

Naru and Shinobu slowly turn and stare at the support column between them, and then back to the young man being smothered alternately by Kitsune and Mutsumi.

Shinobu's hands go to her mouth as she watches Keitaro nearly being asphyxiated by the two sets of large-, uh, by the two sets of overly-, uh…, being 'mothered' by Kitsune and Mutsumi.

Naru, seeing the smile on Keitaro's face, balls her fist, a vein throbbing on her head. Her attention is distracted by the look of bliss on Mutsumi's face, and the one of, well, if lust isn't the right word, it'll do for now, in Kitsune's eyes.

"KI-TSU-NE! MU-TSU-MI! Get your hands and, and, and other body parts off Keitaro NOW!" Naru glares at the two older girls.

"Oh dear! Oh my! Naru seems rather angry." Mutsumi places a hand on the side of her face and smiles, sliding away from Keitaro without appearing to move her legs.

Kitsune, a few seconds behind Mutsumi, glances up as she realizes the Okinawan isn't pulling Keitaro away from her again. "Huh?" A sensation of heat to her left causes her to look up. Naru, her eyes glowing red, stands over her.

"Aaahhhh! I didn't do anything, Naru! Don't get yer panties in a twist! Sake! I want my sake!" she yelps as she drops Keitaro and backpedals away, his head hitting the floor with a 'thunk' and another "Ouch!"

Naru kneels beside Keitaro. "Are you alright, Keitaro? I'm so sorry; I should have been paying more attention."

Shinobu whimpers, kneeling on his other side "P-please forgive us, Sempai! It was an accident!"

Sitting up, Keitaro rubs his head. "Uh, I think I'm okay. Nothing broken." He tilts his head up and smiles. "I'd appreciate a hand up, if it's no bother."

Raising his left hand, not realizing how close she is, Keitaro accidentally lift Shinobu's skirt up, her teddy-bear panties smiling up for everyone to see.

"Aaauuuuu!" Shinobu cries out, "You saw my teddy-bear panties!" she turns and runs.

Having a good idea what just occurred, Keitaro pulls his hand back quickly. "I'm sorry, Maehara-san! I didn't mean to…"

Shinobu suddenly stops and thinks, _(Wait a second, Sempai is blind, and he couldn't have seen them!)_ Spinning back,"N-Naru-sempai, w-wait! He didn't see anything!" she calls out, her words falling on deaf ears.

Keitaro is silenced as Naru grabs him by the collar and lifts him bodily off the floor. "You pervert! She's only in middle school!" Rearing back, she punches Keitaro in the jaw, sending him flying back towards the common room.

Where Motoko meets him, sword drawn faster than the eye can follow! "Foul, deceitful, vile, lecherous male! Shinmei-ryu no Zanganken! God's Cry Attack of The Stone Cleaving Sword!" Her vortex smashes into Keitaro, blasting him through the door to the dining room.

Haruka pokes her head around the corner of the door frame, her eyes hard as nails. "Did all of you forget that Keitaro is BLIND and couldn't have seen Shinobu's panties?"

Shinobu whimpers, "I-I forgot, Haruka-sensei."

Lying on the floor near the kitchen door, Keitaro holds his throbbing head in his hands, stars swimming in his mind's eye, _(Damn, this isn't good! I'd better make an appointment to have Hikari-sensei check me out tomorrow)_ he thinks just as he loses consciousness.


	8. Chapter 8

**Love Hina – Blind Love**

AN: I know, I know . . . so many chapters but only a day or two goes by. The pace will pick up soon, I'm just trying to get past this first part myself. :)

**Fanfic **

_Keitaro is silenced as Naru grabs him by the collar and __lifts him bodily off the floor. "You pervert! She's only in middle school!" Rearing back, she punches Keitaro in the jaw, sending him flying back towards the common room._

_Where Motoko meets him, sword drawn faster than the eye can follow! "Foul, deceitful, vile, lecherous male! __Shinmei-ryu no Zanganken! God's Cry Attack of the Stone Cleaving Sword!" Her vortex smashes into Keitaro, blasting him through the door to the dining room._

_Haruka pokes her head around the corner of the door frame, her eyes hard as nails. "Did all of you forget that Keitaro is BLIND and couldn't have seen Shinobu's panties?"_

_Shinobu whimpers, "I-I forgot, Haruka-sensei."_

_Lying on the floor near the kitchen door, Keitaro holds his throbbing head in his hands, stars swimming in his mind's eye, _(Damn, this isn't good! I'd better make an appointment to have Hikari-sensei check me out tomorrow)_ he thinks just as he loses consciousness._

**Chapter Eight **

**Dinner-time at Hinata-sou**

Running into the dining room, the girls see Keitaro lying out cold on the floor. Haruka, a stern look on her face, is already kneeling at the blind man's side, checking him for injuries.

As far as she can tell, except for the small bump on his forehead, he is only unconscious, but that in and of itself is nearly enough to have her turn on the girls. Steeling her emotions, she wills herself to calm down _(Breathe, Haruka, breathe. Kei has been dealing with this most of his life, quit letting it get to you)_ she thinks, trying to remind herself of all the times Keitaro has bounced back from just such incidents, although perhaps not so many in such a short time frame.

Turning to Naru and Motoko, Haruka says, between tight lips, "Are you two trying to kill Keitaro, or just maim him? How many times do you have to be reminded that he's blind? He couldn't have seen anyone's panties, let alone Shinobu's. And, you did just slam him into that pillar and then double-teamed him for something that was impossible for him to have done, simply because you girls are so distracted between apologizing to him and beating the snot out of him and protecting him from yourselves."

Looking down, she makes sure Keitaro is still unconscious before she speaks again, softly. "I ought to just take you back to the Institute where you'll at least be safe." _(Keitaro won't get revenge for himself, so I'll just do a little for him. Let's see how the girls react to that.)_ Haruka thinks to herself.

As she anticipated, her words stop all the girls cold. There are a few moments of dead silence before the bedlam erupts.

"Wait a minute, Haruka; ya'll gotta give us another chance!" "Haruka-san, it was just an accident, Aaauuuuu!" "Oh my, oh dear, does this mean we can play 'mommy' with Kei-kun anymore?" "Please Harukas! Let Keitaros stay, we haven't gots to play much yet!" "Although it may be in our best interest for him to go, it would not be proper to let him leave before we have the opportunity to apologize to Urashima."

Haruka looks around at the girls, her eyes coming to rest on Naru, who is standing there in silence. Looking at her feet, the honey-haired girl wrings her hands. "Well, Naru? Aren't you going to say anything before I make a decision?" the older woman asks, extending the girls' torment to teach them a lesson.

Naru dares a glance at Haruka, then quick one at Keitaro before looking down at her clasped hands. Finally, she stutters "H-he would be safer if you t-took him away from, from us." not understanding why speaking a plain truth like that hurts her so much. Looking at the other residents, Naru continues, taking some comfort in their opposition to Haruka. "B-but, give me, give us a chance to make it up to him! I mean, look. He's only been here a day and see how he's been treated? If he doesn't hate our guts by now, he's either hit his head too many times, or he has the understanding of a saint. How can we let him think this is how I, uh, how we really are?"

"uuhn. Well, I wouldn't describe myself as a saint, but, ow, I appreciate the sentiments." mumbles Keitaro, rubbing his forehead and sitting up slightly, his knees bent as he rests his elbows on them. Shinobu squeals "eep!" as she kneels on his other side, opposite Haruka "S-Sempai! Are you o-okay?" she asks, tentatively reaching out for his arm but stopping short of actually touching him again.

Haruka supports his back as he sits on the floor. "Take it easy, Kei. Your head isn't made of stone, you know. Rest a bit." She tells him.

Su looks at Keitaro, and then remembers the stopwatch in her hand (which had appeared out of nowhere). Clicking it, she crows "That's a new records, Keitaros! You was outs of it for less than forty-five seconds. I've just gotta tries out some of my heavy artilleries on ya!"

The young man turns his head in the direction of the young inventor's voice, his jaw seeming to nearly drop to the ground. "Well, uh, well . . just give me enough warning so I can prepare myself, okay Kaolla?" he grins weakly.

"No guaranties, Keitaros. But, I will promises to gives ya a good cheering on as ya runs."

Rubbing his forehead some more, he visibly winces behind his dark glasses and then, to the surprise of the girls, he starts laughing. "Ha ha ha, I must have looked like an idiot, letting you two walk me right into that pillar like that, but I was kinda surprised that, uh, well," Keitaro's face becomes slightly embarrassed as he blushes two shades of red, and his voice drops to a whisper, "it's just that, I've never, uh, I'm not used to having girls try to treat me nicely. At least girls who aren't family, or medical personnel from the Institute."

Kitsune is the first to regain a sense of composure. "Well, Keitaro, ya'll must admit, things are a bit more lively around here than ya'll must be used to, eh? A shame you didn't come on a night when we . . . ooooh, Ah just had a great idea! How about we make it all up to ya'll by getting some sukiyaki take-out, a load of sake and crank up the stereo and have a" she turns and looks at the other girls, but stops, her mouth opened as most of the others answer her in unison.

"NO PARTY!"

Mutsumi looks at Keitaro, then to Kitsune, then to the others. "Oh, my, does that mean Kei-kun won't have a chance to try my melons?" she asks innocently.

Kitsune smirks at the look of discomfort that passes on Keitaro's face, and adds, "Well, we'all don't have to have a party for Keitaro to get someone's melons, now do we?" in a suggestive tone of voice as she stands in front of Keitaro, grabs her 'babies' and shakes them at the young man.

Keitaro's nose starts to drip furiously. Kitsune smiles and thinks to herself, _(A shame he ain't gonna be here long. He'd be putty in mah hands, even if he can't see.)_

Shinobu sees the blood and grabs a kitchen towel, "W-we're sorry Sempai. We, uh, that is, uhm . . ." she starts, not really sure what to say, wondering why it was his nose that started bleeding several minutes after he hit his forehead.

Motoko, her sword held at her side, bows to Haruka. "Our apologies, Haruka-san. Our behavior since the arrival of your nephew must seem to you to be, to say the least, rather physical."

Naru shakes her head as giggles. "I think physical is putting it mildly. We've been kinda brutal."

"Haruka?" Keitaro puts his hand out; careful to avoid reaching in the direction Shinobu's voice had come from, just in case. Haruka grasps his hand and helps him get to his feet. His hand wiping at his eyes, he turns to where he believes the girls are. He misjudges the direction and his back is to them. "That's alright. I don't blame any of you. Dealing with someone in my condition isn't something I'd guess any of you have ever had much practice with." He tells them, bowing as he does.

In spite of themselves, the girls can't help but giggle at Keitaro's back, thinking he is having a little joke with them. Hearing the sounds of their laughter, he straightens and turns around. They see the intense blush of embarrassment on his face as he smiles lopsidedly.

"Oh, Sempai, you're so funny." Shinobu giggles, reaching over and taking his hand to once again lead him to the table.

He turns his head towards the young cook as he rubs the back of his head. "I wasn't trying to be funny" he says, "but I'm glad you're not angry at me." Shinobu starts to walk him towards the where the meal waits, but Keitaro hangs back, resisting her pull. Turning his head, he smiles, albeit bit more shyly, and puts his other hand out as he comes to a decision. "Narusegawa-san? If you are still willing to help, I'd be grateful for the assistance."

Naru's heart jumps in her chest as her eyes come up to see Keitaro facing towards her. Speechless, she steps over to him and, after a moment, gently takes his hand. "Y-You're welcome" is all she can get out of her suddenly tight throat.

Kitsune snickers and, holding her 'babies' even though Keitaro can't see them, says in a throaty voice, "Ah can let ya hold onto a couple of 'somethings' while ya'll walk to the table, Keitaro, if ya'll wants. Ow! Haruka?" Haruka puts the paper fan back in her pocket and just smiles as the Fox rubs her head.

Keitaro staggers a bit as Naru and Shinobu guide him, around the pillar this time, to the dining room. A slight trickle of blood threatens to drip again as he fights against his imagination at Kitsune's comment. _(Bad as it's been so far, Kami-sama help me when the find out I am the new manager.)_

Motoko's fingers tighten slightly on her bokken. Still unsure of Keitaro's intentions, she is torn between the generosity of spirit his apparent willingness to forgive shows, and the fact it may still be a ruse just to get close to the people under her protection.

Su meanwhile, is thinking;

a. _(I wonders how well Keitaros can tread water, cause he's gonnas get in real deep if he hangs around here much longer.)_

and

b. _(I hope Shinobus made plenty, I is starvacationed!)_

Naru and Shinobu assist Keitaro to a chair at the head of the table, setting his hands on the back so he can find his way to sit down. Then the two girls head to the kitchen as everyone else takes their seats.

Motoko, sitting in the chair to Keitaro's right, lifts a pitcher and asks "Would everyone like some tea while we are waiting for dinner?" as she pours a glass for Keitaro.

Kitsune, sliding to the chair on Keitaro's left, pauses for a moment half-standing, and looks sideways at the sword maiden. Smiling innocently, she asks "Hey, Motoko! Ain't your seat the one at THAT end?" pointing to the far end of the table away from Keitaro as she sits down.

Motoko spills a little tea onto the table as her head snaps up to look at the Fox. "I, uh, that is, I mean. It would not be polite to have Urashima need to wait until our meal is served before someone offers him some tea. I am only trying to ensure that the remainder of his time amongst us is more pleasant than it has been up until now," she says.

"Sure, ya'll are. And Ah'm Ken Akamatsu!" Kitsune says, winking at Keitaro although he can't see her.

Su looks from Motoko to Kitsune to Keitaro to a plate of fruit on the table and back to Kitsune. With a tilt of her head and a smile, she points out "Hey, Kitsunes! I could be wrongs, but I don't thinks your seat is normalities in Haruka's lap!"

Kitsune freezes as she realizes the seat does feel a bit lumpy. Burying that thought deep in her mind before she makes the BIG mistake of saying it out loud, she turns as the older woman taps her shoulder. Haruka had also sat down in a chair beside Keitaro. "Uh, Ah hope that's a cigarette lighter in ya'lls pocket, Haruka! Ha ha ha." Kitsune says, turning to look over her shoulder.

"I'd suggest if you really don't want to find out you move your backside now!" Haruka tells the Fox, her eyes glinting like steel.

Kitsune leaps up and scoots over, bowing to Haruka as she does. "Ah'm so sorry, Haruka! Ah, uh, Ah, . . Ah didn't see you there! That's right! Ah didn't see you there, ya'll being so small and delicate and not lumpy at all and . . ." Kitsune sputters as she sits . . .

. . . and feels the chair beneath her shudder and twitch. "Huh? What the. . .?" a voice mutters behind her as two hands come up and find themselves on her babies "Gack!" as the chair tips over backwards, spilling both her and Keitaro to the floor. Blushing intensely as she ends up sitting on Keitaro's chest, she looks up at Haruka and asks "Ah didn't just do what Ah think Ah did, did Ah?"

Haruka looks at Kitsune and, adjusting her cigarette holder, says, "I'll expect an explanation about that 'lumpy' comment later. For now, maybe you could see fit to getting off my nephew's chest." Kitsune cringes at the older woman's tone.

Keitaro, dazed from the back of his head slamming onto the floor, groans. His right foot twitching, he moans as he struggles under the weight on his chest, his still bruised ribs threatening to give under the strain. "Uh, . . I . . breathe . . . can't . . !"

Kitsune, hearing Keitaro gasping for air, twists around and kneels across the blind man's hips "Oh no! Keitaro-san! Don't die! Ah'll save ya!" Ripping the young man's shirt open, the Fox panics as she frantically pounds on his chest like she is playing a double drum; fast and with a catchy beat. Keitaro winces in pain as her fists slam against his ribcage.

Motoko, Su and Haruka look on with various looks of amusement as they watch Kitsune pound on Keitaro's chest for about ten seconds. Coughing into one hand, Motoko reaches out and grasps Kitsune's shoulder with the other. Pulling her back a bit, she says "Konno-san, that method, poor as you are performing it, is more appropriate for heart attacks, not the cessation of breathing. It may be advisable to, uh, let someone else take care of Urashima. As I am well versed in first aid and rescue breathing, having been trained in medical basics in the Shinmei School, I should . . ." Motoko blushes unconsciously.

As Kitsune sits back and stares at the sword maiden, Su leaps over the table and grabs Keitaro's head. "I knows what yas means, Motokos! Mouth-ta-mouths regurgitations!" Taking a deep breath, Su locks her lips to his, her eyes closed halfway as Keitaro body stiffens. The blind man then squirms as his eyes feel like they are threatening to pop out of their sockets as Su breathes lung-fulls of air into him. Once. Twice. Three times! Su leans back to survey her work.

As Keitaro coughs, Su smiles and asks, "Are ya backs with the rest of the livings, Keitaros? Or are ya gonna turns into a zambonie and eats peoples brainses? That'd be cool, I've always wanted to merges one o' my mechas with an undead guy!" She locks her mouth onto his face and starts filling his lungs again.

Keitaro, totally unaware Kitsune is still on top of him, struggles to escape the vice-like grip and high-pressure air-pump-like lungs of the tanned youngster. His body movements cause Kitsune, who is still straddling his waist, to stare at him for a few moments, and then blush intensely.

Haruka, a slight smile on her face, crosses her arms as she watches Kitsune's eyes go wide with embarrassment and Motoko's eyes go wide with confusion, while Su's eyes sparkle with amusement.

Of course, Naru takes that moment to poke her head into the dining room "I hope everyone's hungry. Shinobu's got the main course nearly done, and I'm whipping up a special dessert. We'll be . . . ." Finally noticing what's going on, Naru leaps to the wrong conclusion (so what else is new) and exclaims, "What the heck is going on out here? What are you doing to Su and Kitsune, you pervert?"

Grabbing Kitsune by the arm, Naru drags the heavily-blushing Fox to her feet.

Knowing Su's grip strength and the likely-hood she would be unable to pry her off the young man by force, Motoko resorts to the tried-and-true tactic. She reaches over and picks up a banana. "Su-chan? Bana . ."

Motoko releases her grip on the fruit as Su, in one swift movement, leaps from Keitaro's side, over the table, snatches the banana, and lands in a crouch on her seat. "Thanks, Motokos! Hey, Keitaros! Ya outta eats more bananas, them's good fer anti-zambonieficationizations!"

As a still-blushing Kitsune wobbles where she stands, Naru reaches down and picks Keitaro up by the back of his opened shirt. "What the heck are you doing, half-dressed on the floor, you lousy baka? It's bad enough you trying your stunts on Kitsune, but Su's only in middle-school!" Keitaro, still groggy and disoriented, hangs there in Naru's grip. "I'm sorry, Narusegawa-san." he says as he limply slips out of his shirt and drops to the ground, kneeling as he sighs, resigning himself to what he figures is about to happen again.

Kitsune is the first to speak. "Naru, it ain't what ya'll thinks! Ah, well, let's just say that Ah got a little mixed up in the seating arrangements, and, uh, that is Ah kinda sat on Keitaro, knocked him to the floor and fell on him."

Naru's eyes glare at the blind man as she raises her fist. Motoko coughs again, distracting Naru "Naru-san, it is as Konno-san said; as bad as this may look, it was all just an accident." Naru thinks about what she saw when she walked in: Keitaro's chair lying on the ground. Kitsune sitting on him _(grrr)_. His shirt missing most of its buttons _(grrrr)_. Su's lips locked onto his _(grrr grrr)._ His chest red and scratched? _(grrr???)_ This stops Naru's arm movement in mid-swing.

Lowering her hand, she drapes the blind man's shirt across his shoulders. Naru looks at the others "Uh, did I miss something here? Keitaro, wh-why is your ch-chest . . . ? What happened?"

Su says, "Yeah, Narus! You shoulda seens it. Keitaros was in pretty bad shapes! Kitsunes tried to help with his breathing by playings a real wild beat on his chest. Motokos wanted to try and regurgitates him, but I gots to Keitaros first."

Motoko blushes "That i-is not entirely accurate. I was merely pointing out that Konno-san was improperly trying to assist Urashima's breathing by beating on his chest. I was not thinking about how soft his lips looked, er, I mean, I knew he was not really in distress. K-Konno-san was just pressing down on his abdomen and Urashima was having difficulty breathing and I thought that maybe I could try helping since I am well versed in emergency first aid from my training at the Shinmei School of Swordsmanship and . . . I am rambling, am I not?"

Naru, with Keitaro momentarily forgotten, and her eyes darkening, crosses her arms and says sweetly. "Not at all. Please DO continue."

Meanwhile, Shinobu peeks in from the kitchen and sees Keitaro on the floor again. She slinks over to the blind man, as Naru listens to Motoko and Kitsune sputter through a replay of what just happened, and kneels next to him. Daringly placing her hand on his arm, she asks, "Poor Sempai! A-are you alright?"

Keitaro turns his head towards the young cook and smiles. "I'm alright, Shinobu-chan. We just seem to have had a small misunderstanding out here."

Keitaro holds his ribs with his left hand and leans towards her a little, smiling as he whispers, "But, if you don't mind, could you help me to my chair, Shinobu-chan? I don't think I want to get between the others right now, my ribs couldn't take it." The others are still going on about the 'incident' and appear to not be paying attention, so Shinobu nods her head and stands, lifting Keitaro's arm. She stifles a gasp as she sees the redness on the front of his chest. Keitaro, not realizing that his injury is so visible, wraps his button-less shirt-tails around his waist and ties them together to cover himself up until he can get a change of clothing.

As Shinobu picks up his chair and guides his hand to it, she freezes.

Naru stares at the two of them. As she was right by Keitaro's side, Naru heard his quiet plea to Shinobu. The older girl locks gazes with the youngster for a few seconds, before putting her finger to her lips in a shushing motion, and then bows her head and backs out of the way, a sad, embarrassed smile on her face.

After Keitaro is settled in his chair, and the others take their seats (Motoko and Kitsune moving to the far end of the table out of embarrassment), Naru and Shinobu finish in the kitchen and bring the meal out. Su pokes Mutsumi to wake her up, as the Okinawan had been face-down on the table asleep in her chair for the last ten minutes.

Naru fidgets behind her normal chair, as if unable to decide if she is going to sit down or not. Haruka notices the look on the girl's face, as Shinobu carries in the tea and sits in the chair on Keitaro's other side. Standing, she paces over to Naru, takes her elbow and points. Using the previous incident as an excuse to change places, she tells her, "Here, Naru. You sit over there beside Keitaro, I want to sit beside Kitsune and so that we can discuss 'lumps' and other things after we eat." Kitsune cringes again as she says a quick prayer to any protective spirits that might happen to be in the area.

Semi-reluctantly, the honey-haired girl moves next to the blind man and sits, mouthing a quiet apology. Keitaro turns towards her with a lopsided grin and whispers "I'm really sorry for everything. As you've probably noticed, I'm pretty clumsy sometimes" as he rubs the back of his neck.

Naru looks up at Keitaro, wondering just how much of that last incident was his fault, and how much was an accident. Deciding that was better left for discussion with the others later in the hot springs, she stutters "N-no problem, Keitaro. At least you weren't atta- . . I mean you weren't hurt, again."

Haruka breaks into the conversation, "Well, now that everyone's finally seated, let's eat before anything else happens. Shinobu, please help Keitaro find his meal."

The assembled group responds "Itadakimasu!" and they start eating. Shinobu lifts a portion of food to Keitaro's mouth while blushing deeply, "H-here y-you g-go, S-Sempai. O-Open w-wide."

Keitaro opens his mouth and chews on the proffered tid-bit. "This is good! Really good!" He opens his mouth for another bite, and Shinobu smiles beneath her blush as she offers another bite for Keitaro.

The young man's smile goes from ear-to-ear as he relishes the delicious morsels being fed to him. "This is great fried beef! It's seasoned perfectly." chew chew "And the rice is so light!" chew chew "I could learn to . . . Aaaaargh! Wather! I need wather! My mouph! Ow, ow, ow, ow!"

Everyone stares at Naru as she places the tube of wasabi paste which Haruka had tossed to her back on the table. Shinobu grabs a glass of tea and shoves it into Keitaro's hand, which he then gratefully swallows.

"You never learn, do you Kei? And Shinobu, next time, you'll be savoring some wasabi as well. No need to get the new manager used to maid service since he'll be doing a lot of the work around here anywa-. . . oh crap!" Haruka covers her mouth as Keitaro freezes, his glass dribbling tea down his chin.

Kitsune grins as she says "Now why does this seem so familiar? It's just like . . ." she stops as Haruka's words seep in.

The girls all turn towards the Tea House owner, exclaiming as one "The NEW manager?" They then slowly turn back towards Keitaro, who is squirming in his seat, Shinobu's hand frozen in place, still helping him with his tea glass.

"Oh heck. Uh, Haruka? I don't think, ah, that is, I uh, heh heh. I think I need to go out for a while." Keitaro says, easing his chair back as he tries to remember (unsuccessfully) which way to the nearest door, window, cabinet, or convenient hangman's noose is. He cringes as he feels heat radiating from Naru's direction. _(imgonnadie, imgonnadie, imgonnadie)_


End file.
